The Green Eyed Marine
by Mr. Invincible
Summary: Captain Annabeth Chase is the typical Marine officer, training the new crop of Marine officers. She is strict, unyielding, immovable. Enter Percy Jackson, a man who has joined Marine ranks as a private after declining an officer rank. As he gets closer, gaining her trust, he slowly unlocks her innermost secrets. Why does he seem to have a darker past and a personal vendetta? AU/AH.
1. New Recruits

**For some reason, I'm in the mood for an AU one-shot, so let's see how it goes. My last two one-shots ended up angsty when I was aiming for humorous.**

**In other announcements, it's officially my 3rd year on this site as of today.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians as you can quite clearly tell from my writing style. **

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"Attention!" The woman standing straight-backed in front of the ranks privates barked, getting the attention of the lazy stragglers in the back of formation. Today was the first day of official marine training and as with all new crop, they looked like they were fish out of the sea, resembling nothing more than inexperienced children. Previous to this day, they had rehearsed the formalities and etiquettes involved with being a marine. Now started the real training.

"Yes M'am!" They chanted in unison, saluting in perfect synchronization, as though it had been rehearsed a multitude of times. That was, of course, the case. It had been rehearsed till it was ingrained in every marine's mind, ingrained insofar as to do it without hesitation if woken up from deep slumber.

The stern countenance on the woman's face remained as she walked through the first row of privates, her swaggering stick hitting the ground with a loud thud every time she stopped in front of a marine. She would scrutinize each closely, leaning in till she was eyelevel with him to readjust his scarlet and gold insignia.

The marines stood in perfect attention as she passed by, announcing loudly, "Officers, listen carefully. I will not repeat myself. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes M'am!" They replied in the same monotonous tone.

"Being deployed is something that none of you will understand till you are out there on the field. You are left to fend for yourselves. As you train, you will learn to be independent of one another, unable to rely on anyone. So, don't take this as a joke since you will only be reducing your own chances of survival. As of now, your training has officially begun. I shall be your commanding captain and if I receive any reports of inappropriate behavior, the consequences shall be much worse than just being booted out. All those stereotypes about the marines are the baddest of the bad? Every single one of them is an understatement. This place will change you till you don't recognize yourselves anymore. Now, if you're already starting to falter, I suggest you leave. The marines can't stand weaklings. Understood?"

"Yes M'am!"

"Yes Captain!' She corrected them, resolving not to forgive the mistake next time. It was the same with every batch of new recruits, bright-eyed excited the first day. Things began going downhill only after the first week; the only reason they even lasted a week was the hope that they would become more accustomed to training. That was the biggest delusion every created by man. Training was different every day. There was no way to neither encompass nor predict all the possible flaws in a field mission till the time came.

As she contemplated the speech she had just given, she stopped in front of one of the new recruits. His eyes were the same tone of green as the sea had been on her first field mission, the same churning of emerald green with the start contrast of the stormy, black pupil.

The man had a strong jaw, not a hint of emotion shown in his face. There was hint of stubble lining the jawline, showing that he hadn't shaved in a while. His jet-black hair fell messily to the side, clearly against the rules. Apart from the apparent mistakes, he was properly dressed, even knowing the perfect slant angle upon which to keep his hat aligned. His uniform was properly pressed, tucked in, showing the slight strain of abs against the fabric.

The straight line which had formed Captain Chase's hard lips dipped down in disdain. She took a cursory look at the name printed, "Jackson."

"Yes M'am—Captain!" The man saluted once.

"Did you not get the itinerary?"

"M'am?" The confusion clouded his sea green eyes as his eyebrows contorted, not sure what his superior was referring to.

"How the hell did you get in here without shaving?"

"M'am, I—"

"You what, Jackson?"

"I was in the Navy."

"Does that make you feel high and mighty? Do you feel that you're above the Marine's rules just because they were slightly lax in the Navy?"

"No, M'am."

"I won't stand upstarts, Jackson!"

"Yes M'am."

She rapped her swaggering stick once on the ground as she continued with inspection. As she proceeded through the lines, only one face appeared to her, the face of the man with sea green eyes. There was something about him that intrigued her, a deeper hidden mystery. He was unlike the other recruits. He had mentioned being a part of the Navy, but why switch? There was something about that man that unnerved her.

As she finished inspection, she directed the recruits to their respective boot camp battalions based on district. Captain Annabeth Chase returned to her office, sitting in her hard-backed chair as she kicked her boots up on the chestnut desk. She removed her Captain cap, placing it on the side. She could feel the relentless beads of sweat embedded in her short, chopped, blond hair. Just as she was about to get up, she heard a quiet knock on her door.

"Come in."

What surprised her was her visitor. It was none other than the new recruit that had been on her mind: Percy Jackson.

"What do you need, Private?"

"Captain Chase," he began, showing some emotion for the first time, uncertainty, "About earlier…"

"You want to apologize? Apology accepted. I don't have time, but if I catch you once more Marine, I will make sure you are deported."

"That's not what I came to say."

Annabeth Chase raised one of her eyebrows slightly, "Oh…?" She noticed that the man was still standing at her door, unmoving. "Take a seat, Jackson. It's bothersome to have to look up at you." She noted carefully as the man made his way over, his left leg clearly limping in an unorthodox fashion. He didn't once in pain as though it were a habitual occurrence.

"Jackson, what did you do to your leg?"

"M'am, don't you remember?"

"Remember what, Jackson?" She asked more venomously than she had needed to. Annabeth Chase watched as the man said nothing, as though he had anticipated her response. "What are you referring to?"

"It's not of concern now, but I was instructed to give you this," he held out the envelope he had been holding in his hand.

Her curiosity was yet to be satisfied, only adding more to Jackson's enigmatic persona. Was he mentally unstable perhaps? She waved the thought as insignificant as she took the letter. From the seal, she could tell it was a letter of recommendation. So, the man had connections.

She broke the seal easily as she began to scan the contents:

_Addressed to Captain Annabeth Chase of the Marines:_

_Due to a special request on the part of Navy Captain Perseus Alexander Jackson, we have accepted his request to transfer to this branch of the Marines, due, in part to his exemplary service on behalf of the Navy._

_Sincerely, _

_Ray Mabus_

_Secretary of the Department of Navy_

Annabeth Chase stood jaw dropped at the man in front of her. He had declined the position of Captaincy to join the marines as a private, the lowest rank? She had one simple question, "Why?"

"Why not?" he countered, an undecipherable twinkle in his eye, "You see, Captain Chase, I have my reasons for joining the Marines. There is no need to dig deep into that. Let's just say that when the time comes, you will be the first to know." With a wink, he turned around to leave. "Oh, and one more thing Captain, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

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**And…Once again, my one-shot didn't end up as what I wanted it to. I know I said I wasn't going to start another story, but it just came to me. I'm going to keep the chapters at this length, but updates may be random.**

**So, questions that may have arisen: how did Percy get hurt? And why did he decline his position in the navy?**

**Anyway, what I need to know now is whether this story is worth continuing or not. Let me know in a review. If I'm discouraged by the response, I might just not continue and focus on finishing a 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant before this month ends.**

**Read, review, fave, follow.**

**~TJ**


	2. Reflections of a Gray Eyed Marine

**I'm really surprised by the amount of support this story got from just the first chapter. Hopefully it'll be able to keep that momentum. That being said, some of the first chapters will be more Annabeth or Percy-centric and their inner thoughts for some character development. Them being together doesn't come till later, cause… Well, where's the fun in that?**

**To those who have read my other stories, this one is completely original as shocking as it is.**

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Captain Annabeth Chase sat there stumped as the man smoothly took his leave. He had just strutted in, not literally, handed her letter, and walked out, all without the slightest bit of thought. Had it been anyone else, she would have assumed it was rehearsed, but Percy Jackson seemed difference. He appeared to be the on-the-spot kind of guy, not necessarily reckless, but spontaneous. There was a fine line between the two words, but Percy Jackson had measured the weight of his words as he spoke, choosing each carefully.

But that wasn't all. His behavior wasn't the only shocking part. The message was a whole another story. He had turned down the offer of captaincy for what exactly? To join a lower rank in another armed force division. Who the hell in their right mind would have done that? Certainly not Annabeth Chase. She was currently twenty-six years of age, having been recruited straight from high school at the age of seventeen. It had taken her nine years to achieve this position, and she hoped that the longer she stuck with it, the further could go. The fact that Percy Jackson was able to throw aside her ambition like that stung her.

Annabeth drummed relentlessly on the desk with her fingers. To say the least, it was driving her mad not knowing the possible cause. She had ruled out the possibility of insanity; Percy was too methodic to be diagnosed with madness. There was something else, something indecipherable in his manner.

That's when Annabeth's thought process paused, waiting before it sprinted in full speed. His manner! His gait. His demeanor. His wounded leg. Annabeth had witnessed similar ones in her years of service, yet she had never seen anyone so accustomed to it. Percy Jackson had managed to carry himself confidently even without the full functionality of his appendages.

That too was a deviation from the main source of her uneasiness. What had he meant by: _M'am, don't you remember?_

He hadn't been smiling. It was not a joke. But something in the manner suggested it was more. Percy Jackson was being completely serious. Was he implying he had some previous encounter with her? That she had been there when he had been shot.

Annabeth had remembered only one direct incident in which she had worked with the navy, five years previously. The marines, with the help of the navy, had deployed their forces in Afghanistan. But the memory had been but a mere blur. Annabeth had almost no recall of the incidence. Had Percy Jackson been there at the time?

Her commanding officer at the time had been in danger and Annabeth's sole focus was to protect him. Annabeth remembered being knocked out unconscious by one of the opposing Afghani Taliban forces as a member had thrust his sword deep into her side. Annabeth had of course recovered, but it resulted in 5 months of inactive duty. The surgery involved to see how deep the wound had gone was the most painful experience she had lived through. Lucky for her, there was no internal organ damage or hemorrhage.

It was possible that Percy Jackson was referring to the incident, but he couldn't honestly expect her to remember an incident like that, could he? She hadn't even recognized her face. Countless officers had been hurt that day, and he would have been just one of many. He was nothing special for her to have remembered. Percy Jackson was merely serving his country, nothing out of line with his duty.

Annabeth knew the longer she sat there deliberating this, the more irritated she would become, resorting to pulling out her already relatively short hair.

Fashion statements were quite the status quo in the armed forces. Annabeth traded her sweaty, damp navy blue uniform for one that looked exactly the same, minus the smell. Nevertheless, it felt nice having been recently laundered. She knew that she would have to take a bath sometime soon before the stench overcame her. After all, a woman had to keep up her appearances; especially a woman in a strict all-male's training facility. Annabeth was authorized, but it still felt a little odd to be the only female in the entire perimeter.

Picking her swaggering stick back up, Annabeth walked out the barrack feeling slightly more refreshed than she did when she had entered. As she walked out, the initial morning sunshine had cleared out, opening way to a full on bleak, gray-toned sky that hit Annabeth straight in the eye. Annabeth had to squint her way through to the training facility.

Feeling a little bit of a soft spot for the new recruits, Annabeth pushed the doors open with a banging force, the sound resonating through the building, causing it to shake a little. The men stopped in their tracks immediately to salute their superior, commanding officer.

It didn't bother Annabeth Chase that the men were only in their training shorts, flaunting their biceps and abs. The occasional marine, embarrassed of his beer belly, was wearing a wife-beater, but most seemed content with their physique. Annabeth had grown accustomed to the presence of buff men around her, and this year's new recruits fell short of the more experienced of the flock.

Annabeth Chase wasn't surprised to find Percy Jackson missing, but that didn't prevent her from feeling slightly disappointed. She had questions to ask him, and the sooner, the better.

"Attention," she barked once more, sounding her whistle.

"Yes Captain!" a hundred voices replied in thunderous union, the sound reverberating all around.

"Don't make a habit of it, but you are expected to be at the mess at promptly 6:45 PM if you are to be served dinner. You will not be reminded henceforth."

"Yes M'am!" Almost immediately, the men dropped whatever they were holding, all proceeding to the locker rooms to change before dinner. Annabeth, despite herself, smiled a little at the behavior. She remembered when she herself was a young, bright-eyed recruit. Of course, she had been discouraged by friends and kin alike for being a girl in the marine. They had said she wouldn't accomplish anything, and now look how wrong they were.

Annabeth knew the best time to shower was now while the men went to eat. The sole disadvantage of being a girl was that she had to find a shower time when the other marines didn't barge in. Knowing that they'd be occupied with the thought of food after a long day of intense scrutiny and exercise, she quickly rushed back to the barracks, turning on the tap water to allow for the hot water.

Soon, the steam began rising as the deafening sound of water falling from the shower head cleared her muddied mind. She slipped off her undergarments, feeling rather secure inside the shower. Only a curtain separated her from the rest of the barracks, but it felt good to be able to rub out the grime in her blond hair with the ocean-scented shampoo.

Her thoughts were drowned out by the sound of the shower pouring over her head, her hair, her ears, her eyes… It felt refreshing, invigorating after a day of being stuck in the desert-like training facility. For all she knew, it was like being in the Sahara.

Annabeth knew that the water was a gift enough and to use more of the hot water would be selfish. Before the water turned cold, she switched it off, wrapping her green towel securely around her body. Taking another towel, she proceeded to dry off her hair strand by strand as she stood in front of the mirror. It was still fogged up from the steam, but it was no matter; she only had to dry her hair. The drying was a low process, and Annabeth was beginning to lose track of time. The boys would be back in the barracks within fifteen minutes. She gave herself to more minutes to dry up before she would head up.

Just as she made up her mind, she heard a slight low, chuckle coming from behind her, a pair of footsteps coming to a stop, " Who would have guessed that even the tough Captain Annabeth Chase has some girlish tendencies, keeping up appearances and all? Sexy."

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**So, let me know what you think as usual. I know this had minimal dialogue, but as previously mentioned, the Percy-Annabeth interaction is supposed to come later.**

**Reviewing, faving, and following = incentive for faster updates**

**~TJ**


	3. Reflections of a Blue Eyed Marine

**My deepest sympathies to those affected in today's bombing in the Boston Marathon and to the hundreds affected by the even worse bombing in Iraq today, killing many more.**

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Annabeth dropped the towel she was using to dry her hair, her hands instantly going to the towel wrapped around her body. As she turned around slowly, she was face to face with none other than Major Luke Castellan, in simpler words, her superior in rank. He was simply leaning against the wall, his left leg crossed over his right. When Annabeth turned around, he took a good, long look at her covered body, whistling appreciatively, "Nice."

"Major Castellan!" Annabeth Chase let out an uncharacteristically high pitched squeak of embarrassment, "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," he grinned, advancing closer.

Annabeth shivered as his footsteps echoed against the tile floor till she mustered the courage to yell, "Stop!"

Major Castellan looked in surprise, stopping in place, "Something wrong?"

"Don't come any closer?"

"What do you think I'm going to you?" he asked, his blond eyebrows raised slightly, almost invisible in the dim lighting of the barracks.

Annabeth Chase backed up till she was up against the sink, "Whatever it is, don't do it."

Major Castellan looked at her once, turned away with a disbelieving look, his hand brushing over the blond fuzz of his hair. Returning to face her, he chuckled, "You think I'm going to rape you or something? Calm down Captain Chase. I respect my position enough to have some discretion."

"You never answered my question: what are you doing here?" She asked, still trembling at the prospect of what could have been.

"You never answered mine," he countered.

"I asked first."

"Fine, I wanted to take a shower. Happy? You know how cold the water gets when everyone showers at the same time."

Annabeth snorted once, "Right. Then what's up with calling me sexy?"

"Cut me some slack. You're the only girl I see around here. I need some affirmation for my orientation," Luke grinned, winking once.

"Sounded like an insult to me."

"If you say so, Chase. Now go put on some clothes before I really get indecent thoughts," Luke turned around and headed to the bunker section of the barracks as Annabeth hid back behind her shower curtain to change. He sat down pensively on one of the lower bunks, disgruntled at the recruit's messy 'housekeeping' and unfolded bed.

He was initially shocked upon seeing Annabeth in the showers. Granted she had a valid reason to shower before the men, it was to avoid encounters like this. What puzzled him most was not Annabeth Chase, but the new recruit Percy Jackson.

During the roll call for new recruits during dinner, there was a pause as the caller checked Private Perseus Jackson as absent from the mess hall. Luke scratched at the growing blond stubble at his chin in perplexity. That name. Percy Jackson. He had heard it somewhere before. Regardless, the association with the name was definitely not pleasant. He felt a shiver run through his spine, causing him to shiver at the very thought of the name.

Whilst he was still in deep thought, Annabeth had come back out, fully dressed, what was remaining of her blond hair in a bun, "Major Castellan?"

"Hm?"

"Is the mess still open?"

"Shouldn't you know that by now?"

"I know it's closed, but is there any possibility that it may be open?"

"Chase, you know how strict the kitchen staff are. Can't do anything about it. They are sticklers to their schedules," Luke shook his head sympathetically. It was near impossible to complete the dusk training without having eaten something.

Annabeth's stomach grumbled as if in rebuttal of Luke's statement. She looked at him sheepishly. Luke got out of the bunk, kneeling down in front of the small, wooden lampstand next to it. Rummaging through the drawers, he found what he had been looking for, "Aha!"

Tossing a cup at her, he kept one for himself.

"Mac and Cheese?" She asked, her eyebrows scrunched in disdain.

"Want to trade? I have Ramen."

"No thank you. I'll stick with this."

"Just be happy you have something to eat."

"You thank it's alright to take this? It does belong to the marine after all."

"He can deal. He probably just got a proper meal of fajitas in the mess," Luke said unsympathetically as he brought out the electric kettle, plugging it into one of the outlets for the water to boil.

"I missed Fajita Monday?" Annabeth asked, incredulous.

"You like Fajita Monday? The hell is wrong with you? I skipped it voluntarily."

"Idiot. You could have starved," Annabeth punched him lightly in his shoulder, surprised a little by how buff they were. "Have you worked out lately?"

"I was always ripped. You were just too blind to see it," The beep of the electric kettle went off; Luke poured generous amounts of steaming hot water in the respective cups. Without even waiting for the water to cool off or even for the noodles to cook, he began spooning the burning noodles into his mouth, "Hot! Hot!"

"You are such an idiot. Tell me how you became a major again?"

"Captain Annabeth Chase, I do believe that is the second time you have called your commanding major stupid. Next time, you won't be so lucky. Watch what you say," He took off the seriousness by grinning, teasing the girl like they had done so in the past.

"Whatever Lukey," she said, knowingly saying the name just to see his reaction. The response time was immediate. Luke dropped his cup of Ramen, the boiling water spilling over his pant legs. He howled in pain as he looked at her murderously, "Don't ever mention that again."

"Why, does it remind you too much of Thalia?" The mood immediately fell somber at the mention of Thalia. Thalia had been Annabeth's best friend in high school. Luke was two years their senior, yet he still had a crush on the eccentric, black haired girl. Thalia had always teased him for this crush, her laughing face forever engrained in their minds. Thalia had died a month before Luke's high school graduation. She was in the car with her mother when they were killed by a drunk driver.

"Look, Luke, I didn't mean that."

"Forget it, Annabeth."

"Luke, I really— She was my friend too."

"I know, I know," Annabeth squeezed Luke's hand in comfort; he didn't recoil from the touch. The two simply sat there in silence. Major Luke Castellan was taken back to his days five years ago. Annabeth and him and been first lieutenant at the time, him the captain. They were always promoted at the same time. But the particular incidents that Major Castellan involved the days where his stress had been reduced.

One particular memory stuck out in particular. One in which he had thought he had lost Annabeth for good. Annabeth was a deluxe package, a sister in some sorts, a friend in another, and at sometimes, even a love interest. He had never expressed these sentiments out loud, either out of fear of rejection. Luke wasn't the best at expressing his feelings in particular, but there was the aspect of respect. He respected their friendship over the tiniest amount of love for her.

He remembered sitting on the makeshift bunker with her in the Afghani desert, the dry weather causing everyone's throats to be parched. They had been passing around the canteen, each taking a measly sip out of it before passing it on. That had been a few hours before the deadly Taliban attack, killing dozens of marines and navy men alike. It had been one of the deadliest missions he had ever embarked in.

Going back to the scene at hand, he remembered a particular one in vivid imagery: Annabeth's wound. She had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, stepping in front of him. The sword intended for him was intercepted by her, wounding her deeply in the side. Luke had steadied the falling Annabeth, the crimson colored blood seeping through his hands as he attempted to pry out the sword. He knocked the attacker out cold with the hilt of the weapon in fury. The image was still deep in his mind after five years.

"Luke," Annabeth said softly, breaking the silence, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing. It's nothing."

"You sure? You can tell me about it, you know. If it was because I re-dug memories of Thalia, I'm really sorry."

"I was just remembering the good old days of being a Captain, easiest position out there," he said, giving her a smile, hoping it would throw off her concern.

"Major Castellan. I am offended."

Luke got up, careful not to hit his head on the top bunk. He patted her once on the back, "C'mon. We should head back to training." He put his arm around Annabeth's shoulder as the two walked out, bantering carelessly.

Little did the two notice the figure hidden in the dark shadows just a few bunks down from them, listening carefully to everything they had said. The green eyes fluttered open in the eerie darkness, giving it almost a fluorescent glow; a bright smile from the man lit up the room the otherwise pitch black room. He had been right after all. He had come to the right place.

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**Like? No like? Let me know with a review. Let's try to get 50 reviews, maybe? Am I asking for too much? I will try to update this and 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant simultaneously, but the other one only has 2-3 chapters left. The next two months are really hectic, so bear with me and my irregular updates.**

**Anyway, make sure to read, fave, follow, add to community, or whatever you do. Trust me, those really do act as incentives to authors to write more. **

**~TJ**


	4. Boxing

**This story and 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant portray the characters so differently that I have a hard time switching personalities. Anyway, on to the story.**

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Percy nodded in content at the sound of the disappearing, echoing footsteps. His hunch had been right. Major Castellan had been involved some way in the incident. So all that effort to get into the Marine and declining the Navy position wouldn't be futile once he accomplished his primary goal.

What astounded him was the closeness with which Captain Annabeth Chase and Major Luke Castellan spoke to one another. It wasn't the regular conversation between a high ranking official and his subordinate; it was one of familiarity. Of course Percy had heard the whole sob story of Thalia and high school, but he seemed disgusted that a man like Luke actually cared about people.

Percy figured that the longer he stayed in the barracks, the more suspicious he would become. Annabeth was already harboring some apprehensions about him after he handed her the letter from the Secretary of the Department of Navy.

To say the least, he wasn't much of a stealth person; subtlety had never been his expertise. Skipping dinner and training had been a dangerous move on his part. No one could kick him out with his connections, but nevertheless, it would prevent people from being distrustful around him.

He got up, dusted his pants, and proceeded towards the evening training center. As he entered, he was struck by how many men were practicing weights. Percy couldn't help but scoff. It would take years till the men even neared his level, but at least they were trying.

Noting that no one had taken notice of the punching bag at the far end of the gymnasium, Percy approached it taking off his shirt so that he could put on his boxing gloves. Had he been a room filled with females, the mere sight of Percy's rippling abs would have put them to shock. But it was nothing compared to his boxing skills. Although he didn't look it with his lean figure, the tough muscle, taut under his skin, was primed essentially for this purpose.

Percy had taken to boxing the moment he had entered the Navy, to his delight, finding his ability to be rather unique. The boxing allowed for a more relaxed manner of venting out his feelings. It served as a double purpose. Sometimes, he just used the punching bag for fun.

He kept his eyes focused on the bag hanging in front of him, making sure it didn't waver in his eyes. He started stretching out his arms once or twice so that he wouldn't injure it later. Giving the bag a tentative punch at first with his left hand, he smashed it full on with his right, the sound resonating throughout the building.

Shaking his hand once, he struck the bag once more. Aiming to practice the Bolo punch, he swung his right hand till it stopped close to the bag, finishing the punch with his left. The uppercut hook action looked relatively easy, but it was all in the distraction.

Picturing his opponent was easy enough with a punching bag, pretending to dodge the move. Moving in to do the one-two combination in which Percy circled the punching bag as though it were his prey, he knew it all depended on his footwork. He circled to his left, his left arm ready for the swing. As he successfully aimed it, he brought his right arm forward to punch the bag when someone grabbed his arm.

The blood had been rushing through his ears, the sound deafening and tuning everything around him out. The sound was such that it even impaired his vision. When the black spots clouding his vision cleared and his heart pace slowed back down to a more regular rhythm, he found Captain Chase standing in front of him, his fist dangerously close to her nose.

"Jackson," she said calmly.

"Captain?"

"I don't know if you realize, but the punching bag is destroyed," she gestured to the remaining scraps of a beaten bag still hanging. "You would have just punched thin air."

The sand inside the bag was slowly starting to trickle down from one of the sides. How had he not noticed it? His focus was so intent on the goal that he hadn't seen anything he had done. The punching bag, as she had said, was utterly destroyed.

Annabeth looked at him with a new appraising look, "It appears to be that you have nothing to practice with, Private."

"M'am."

"Well Jackson, I had some things that I wanted to talk to you about. But, how about we have a bout of boxing first to cool off some steam before we commence."

Percy raised his eyebrow slightly to show his surprise, "May I ask why?"

"You will find out once we're done."

"And if I say no?"

"You wouldn't dare Jackson. You know the consequences.'

Percy mock-bowed, "Of course. But I don't fight girls normally."

Annabeth with his glare with an even scowl, "Don't tell me you're one of those masochists. I really despise men like that."

Percy gave her a small chuckle, "If you insist. But, I really hate going easy on people."

"Enough talk. I've seen you throw punches and to be on the receiving end is, admittedly, a rather frightening thought, but let's see if you have the same skills to oppose another person."

He smiled openly at the challenge, rather astonished by her admittance to fear. But this is where he excelled, and Annabeth needed to see he was not something to be trifled with. If he had chosen, he could have been her equivalent.

By this time, the entire hall was watching in anticipation as the upstart new recruit faced off his captain. Surprisingly enough, Luke wasn't there. Percy had hoped he would be there to intervene. He'd much rather fight the other man one on one then with his subordinate.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows as he debated over the issue, "Scared, Jackson?"

"In your dreams, Chase— Captain Chase."

Annabeth gave him a grin as the two started circling one another similar to how Percy had done with the punching bag, the difference this time being in the mobile opponent.

She made the first move as he dodged it easily. Annabeth Chase was no amateur; that much was certain, but she was no match for Percy Jackson. Percy knew his best strategy was to let her tire herself out. She had seen him practicing his moves and could anticipate his strategy lest he try them on her.

Several punches were thrown, Percy's for blocking purposes. When he had said he didn't like fighting against girls, there had been a valid reason. It wasn't that he was an anti-feminist, but more like he felt he didn't need to fight her. Annabeth hadn't done much wrong… Key word being much. Besides, where was it going to get him if she got hurt? If anything, it would tip people off.

Percy could sense Annabeth's growing impatience and irritation at the fact that he was solely on the defensive. She was starting to lose focus as she just wanted him beat. Her form was giving way to the boiling frustration underneath. The frustration contained in the match and in the mystery that Private Percy Jackson held.

Annabeth's speed was dropping, her moves becoming more sluggish. To a spectator, this difference with have been undecipherable, but Percy noticed it all. As she brought her right arm in for an uppercut, he raised his arm halfway to cut it, using her momentary lapse of offense to twist her arm up till she winced in pain.

With this, he was easily able to bring her closer till they were face to face, or face to chest at least. Looking down on his captive with a smirk, he replied to her initial question, "M'am, I don't think you're in a position to bargain with me. I am not coming with you for your 'inquisition'."

He tried to let go, but was stopped by her firm grasp on his arm as he tried to leave. Percy had loosened up his hold on her only for the tables to be reversed. In his second of hesitation, she judo threw him on the ground till they were once more inches from one another, her face hovering over his as he laid on the mat. Annabeth said with a weak smile on her lips, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Match over Jackson."

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**I know it's been a week, but my updates will be random as I said before (although more reviews are generally speaking a good incentive). Ideally, I'll finish 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant tomorrow. I've spent a hundred days too many writing that story.**

**Anyway, make sure to read, fave, follow, and most importantly…review for faster updates.**

**~TJ**


	5. Interrogations

**Updates will be a lot slower until summer starts due to end of year exams and all.**

* * *

Percy scoffed disbelievingly, turning his head slightly as he looked at his Captain's face overhead. Unbelievable. Annabeth Chase flashed him a winning smile, "Concede defeat?"

He looked at her once and then at the crowd that had formed to watch the spectacle. Glancing back at the other marine, he stared pointedly, enough to make her cheeks deepen in a red hue. "What?" she demanded uncomfortably.

He made a sidelong glance at either side of his head, gesturing to her hands, "I do believe that I can't move since you've pinned me to the ground."

"Oh," Annabeth did her best to hide the embarrassment as she got up, occupying herself by dusting off her pants. Percy smirked a little as he stood up within inches of her, "I am a man of my word, Captain Chase. I do hope you keep that in mind."

He proceeded to pick up his boxing gloves lying on the mat beside him from where he had carelessly thrown them before their match. Percy walked in direction of the locker rooms, tossing a towel over his shoulder, only turning back once to flash her an almost condescending grin.

The look left Annabeth weak in the knees. She was puzzled by the man, admiring him some strange sense. No, she didn't like him. His personality was much too arrogant for that, but he frightened her. Simply put, there was something unnerving about the way the man behaved. Just who was he?

Shaking her head to clear out the thoughts, Annabeth cleared her throat, "What are you looking at? Get back to your drills!" The crowd dispersed as quietly as it had emerged, allowing Annabeth to follow in the direction of the changing rooms.

Annabeth wasn't ashamed being in the men's locker room, having been there on multiple occasions. The case often resulted in new marines being more embarrassed than she was. She didn't hear the sound of the shower running, so she assumed that Percy was elsewhere in the changing rooms.

As she walked down the hallway leading to various lockers, she stepped lightly, making sure the footsteps didn't leave a resounding sound as she approached. She would look in furtively at every door, hoping to see whether or not the man was there.

Annabeth had reached the end of the hallway, her efforts futile in search of the enigmatic man. Just as she turned to leave, she heard a quiet chuckle: Percy Jackson.

She almost let out a yelp but restrained herself, realizing how suspicious she must have looked right now, walking around the men's locker room.

"Can I help you?" he asked her amicably. "I couldn't help but hear the loud thumping sound of someone's footsteps."

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, the words so quiet that she could barely hear them herself. Annabeth felt like a mouse trapped as she looked for another exit, but no, Percy Jackson had timed it perfectly, cornering her with no other exit than the one in which he was standing in front of. His imposing, rather intimidating body obstructed her only way to leave the building.

Percy, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying himself, "I could ask you the same thing, Captain Chase. This is the men's room, or so I was told. I don't believe this is co-ed."

Annabeth felt her temper rising quickly. He had no right to question her, him being only a private while she was his commanding officer. In fact, she had no need to come up with a justification. She was the one meant to be posing the questions here for an interrogation, not him.

"Well?" he asked, the smirk still playing on his lips. "Cat got your tongue? I didn't expect that my commanding officer could be so— what's the word— so sly."

"Jackson, there is no need to justify my actions to you. And if I recall, you refused to answer a few simple questions earlier."

Percy stepped closer till there was only a half of foot of breathing space separating them, "M'am, if you recall, I said I was a man of my word. The deal was that I would answer your questions, and here I am."

"Then why did you try to dodge them before?"

"M'am," he began, the twinkle in his eye dying, "In case you haven't taken notice, I tend to be an introvert. I generally don't go around answering questions about my life for the sake of someone else. I value my fourth amendment right as does any other man. But, I will uphold my part of the deal."

Annabeth was at loss, temporarily forgetting what she had planned to say, "Where were you?"

He raised his eyebrows in question, "When?"

"Dinner. All new recruits are expected to be present by no later than 6:45 PM sharp. And if I am remembering correctly, you were not at the training facility."

"Captain, you seem to keep a careful record of what I have been doing."

"I tend to keep tabs on those who need discipline."

Percy leaned closer till she could feel his haggard breathing, "I need to be disciplined?"

Annabeth writhed a little in her enclosed corner space, "Sit down." She gestured towards a nearby bench in one of the adjacent rooms. Not only would this put some distance in between them, there would be a chance to leave quickly if the need arose.

"I despise upstarts. From what I can tell, you are not a stickler for rules as recruits are expected to be."

"But that's why we're here, right?" he asked, his face angled up slightly in genuine curiosity. "To train?"

"You were in the Navy I believe."

"I was," he confirmed.

"Then you should know the rules by now."

"I don't mean to break rules, but I only do things that I know will benefit me."

"You are here to serve your country! Not do what you see fit. If that is your attitude, Private Jackson, I will have to ask you to leave."

Percy put his arms up in surrender, leaning back slowly, "Calm down Captain. I'm not saying that I won't follow orders. I merely said that dinner is not necessity when I can better spend my hours."

"May I ask what you would rather do?"

The twinkle returned to his eye, "Ah, but there are some things that should be kept a secret. I'm sure you have some of your own." He winked at her once. Annabeth shuddered at the thought, wondering what made him imply that. Did he know something about her?

As she was about to retort, she heard the sound of someone's phone ringing. Annabeth's eyes widened as he slipped his hand into his pocket, drawing out the phone, "Jackson! Phones are confiscated. How the hell did you get that in here?"

Percy ignored her, his eyes fixated at the caller id in front of him. Standing up abruptly, he muttered in sudden anger, "Shit." He walked away before Annabeth could get in another word. Annabeth looked on gravely, wondering what could have irritated the normally composed man so much. She didn't know what was going on, but the ominous feeling surrounding her suggested that something horrid was approaching quickly.

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**Any guesses as to who the caller was? Anyway, make sure to fave, follow, and review. I'll do my best to update, but as I said, exams will take up most of my time.**

**~TJ**


	6. Reflections of a Green Eyed Marine

**Thank you to all those that have been faving and following this story. I'm surprised by the amount of support this story has gotten so far considering it's one of my only original ones. **

**Anyway, since people seem a little bit confused, I decided to do a chapter from Percy's Point of View. It's more insight into his character. If anything, it might just confuse people more…**

* * *

Percy was ticked off. It had been less than two days since he had joined the Marines and _he_ was calling already. The man was getting on his last nerves. He had only affirmed that he was in the right place less than two hours, yet he seemed to know already. Did he have a spy on him?

He decided not to answer the call, preferring to wait it out for the results. Percy knew this probably wasn't the safest route to take, considering what happened last time. At the thought of last time, Percy's face darkened, turning into a deep scowl of irritation.

Two days. That's how long he had been in the Marines. And in those two days, _he_ was already calling and his superior, Captain Chase, was already beginning to suspect him of something. Was he losing touch already? No matter the problem, he still had to step up his game.

Yet, the call left an unnerving feeling behind. He had to have been watching Percy via someone. There was no way that he could have known so quickly. The thought made Percy shudder at the horrors that awaited him lest he fail.

Another failure on his part was his composure. He had let his mask down in front of Annabeth, allowing her, for a brief second, to have a glimpse of his fear. The panic had immediately registered on his face.

Annabeth Chase was a perceptive one; he had known that from the start. The boxing bout, the interrogation, it was like she was trying to track him down. She was onto something, and she was adamant enough to see it through. She was also not afraid to tell him exactly what she was suspicious about.

Percy had to admit that he admired the girl; most girls didn't have the guts to pursue anything this far. Annabeth Chase was another obstacle to worry about, just another task in addition to the one he was already assigned to.

If he got out of this mission unscathed, he was going to give his benefactor a piece of his mind. It was nearly impossible to approach his target without arousing more questions with respect to his purpose.

But if the boxing match had proved one thing, it was that he could defeat anyone. Annabeth Chase had thought she had won, but no, he had let her win. Why exactly? It was a sign of weakness that others saw him, but he was giving them a chance to underestimate him.

After all, he couldn't show them just how good he was at his profession. As a human, he needed to show some weakness, but for a man like him, shortcomings were hard to come by. While it was a true that he slipped on occasion, overall, he was generally more qualified than assumed.

Percy wasn't modest. That much could be said, but his biggest issue was his loyalty. It wasn't as though his benefactor had him tied to this mission, but Percy too had some personal connections. This loyalty was what grounded him, making him unwavering.

He reached into his wallet. After taking a long glance at it, he opened it with trembling hands, staring at the semi-crumpled picture of the red haired young woman. Gently brushing over the image with his thumb, Percy felt the tears beginning to form around his yes. Using the same finger, he wiped them away quickly before anyone saw.

The sight of the picture resolved his will further. He needed to finish his task, and he had to finish it quickly… for her, for Rachel.

Percy was interrupted by the sound of the men leaving the training facility as they all rushed eagerly to the showers, their loud footsteps clattering through the hallways of the locker rooms. Percy was relieved that he was outside the barrage of sweaty men, the fresh air a nice reprieve from the rest.

It surprised him Annabeth hadn't followed him out considering she had upbraided him for having his phone. Now that she mentioned it, how did the security let him pass with a phone? Things were beginning to slack around here. But, he had more reason to be careful. Now that Annabeth knew he had a phone, it would be easy to track and trace anything from his messages to his phone calls.

She hadn't confiscated it on the spot for only one reason. She could tap the cellphone signal as easy as anything with the technology. Annabeth didn't need wiring. All calls in and out of the facility were being monitored. Percy was doubtful about messages, but he didn't want to risk it just yet.

Looking at his watch, he roughly estimated he had about five minutes before Annabeth could have reached the broadcasting office, asking to track down his radio frequency. Five minutes to make his plea as quickly as possible.

Percy's hands shook as he punched in the numbers on his touch screen. He tapped his foot impatiently as the phone began to ring. An irate voice answered on the other side, "Jackson, what the hell do you want now?"

Percy growled into the receiver in a low tone, "Di Angelo, get the bastard on the phone now!"

* * *

**Yes, it was a short chapter, so don't get mad. The compromise for more updates in a quicker span of time is shorter chapters. I hope this chapter cleared some things up. No, I still haven't said who the caller was, but it is not Nico. And to those who suggested Rachel and Thalia, no.**

**As a rule of thumb, I don't swear in real life, so if the swearing does seem out of place, my bad. But they do have the phrase, "Swear like a sailor."**

**I don't know how many of you have heard of **_**The Percy Jackson 2013 Awards **_**being run by HAWTgeek, but everett2 brought it to my attention that I was nominated for Fastest Updater. So, if you want to vote for that, I wouldn't be opposed to it (just a friendly hint). **

**Make sure to leave a review on your opinion of the chapter, fave, or follow. **

**~TJ**

**Also, I'm changing my username to Mr. Invincible. I got over the whole anime phase, so L Lawliet 1979 is outdated. Invincible is no random choice. It's what my name means, so let's go with that. **


	7. The Sensitive One

**Yes, I changed my name to Mr. Invincible. Don't be alarmed… Anyway, I got over the whole anime stage and decided L Lawliet 1979 wouldn't cut it anymore. To those wondering, no, I was not born in 1979. As for Mr. Invincible, my name means invincible and Mr. Invincible sounds better than Ms. Invincible.**

* * *

Di Angelo paused for a minute before answering, saying one word, "Why?"

Percy was already losing his patience. He was running out of time, and this subordinate couldn't just put him on line, "Because I want to talk to him. So, stop being an a-hole and get him on the damn phone."

"He's busy," the other man said abruptly.

"Look man, I know we have some issues and all, but this is important. Get the man on the phone."

"Jackson, I don't know who you think you are, but he's busy. He doesn't have time to talk to you."

"To hell with it. I am here because of him. The least he can do is to oblige my request. Is that too much to ask for?"

"Yeah, actually, it is," Nico Di Angelo put down the phone before Percy could get another word in. In his frustration, Percy threw down the phone on the hard concrete of the training facility's entrance. He watched as the screen cracked on his phone, a thin line appearing diagonally across the fragile screen. For good measure, he kicked the ground around it, covering the phone with the dry dust.

On second thought, he shouldn't leave that there. Leaning down to pick it up, he collected the parts, rubbing the phone on his shirt to rid it of dust. Nico di Angelo always caught him at the worse times. Maybe that's why they were so hostile. The two could never see eye to eye. Nico was a loyal man, no doubt, to the boss, but Percy was there only for personal reasons.

The two, in all honesty, had never even seen each other face to face, the sole communication being limited to telephone conversations. Needless to say, most ended up like this or worse where one hung up on the other irritably.

As Percy turned around, he came face to face with his Captain. She was standing there with her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently. Annabeth held out a hand, raising an eyebrow.

Percy made a show of being reluctant as he placed the now broken phone in her hand. Annabeth slipped it into her pocket as she rounded on Percy, "So Jackson, how'd you get it in here?"

He gave her a puzzled glance, showing in his own surprise, "Honestly M'am, I have no idea."

"I'm sure you are well aware of military rules. The same apply for all armed forces. You seem intent on every single rule we enforce here."

"Well, you better tighten up the security here. I entered the base and handed them my letter from my previous superior. Almost immediately, they saluted me, ushering me in without another search. I was surprised, but didn't bother questioning them."

Annabeth sighed in exasperation, rubbing her temples as though she had a headache, "Fine, fine. I'll go speak to the guards. Might I ask who the caller was?"

Percy glanced at her curiously, suddenly suspicious, "How long have you been here?"

She returned his glance with an equally suspicious one, "Long enough to see you smash the phone on the ground. You looked rather ticked."

He wasn't sure whether she was remotely telling the truth or not, but he went with it, "It was nothing."

"Private Jackson, if it was nothing, I wouldn't have expected you to lose your calm so easily, swearing and all."

"I—" Percy began quickly searching through his head for a viable excuse, one which wouldn't land him under any more issues, "Ah, it was family matter…"

Annabeth Chase, too, wasn't sure whether her private was lying to her. The deep green eyes betrayed nothing on the subject as she began to pursue it, "Oh? Something wrong?"

"No M'am…" Percy took a deep breath, preparing to fabricate a plausible lie, "It's my mother. She was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, and today, she had to undergo treatment again. We thought that they had successfully removed the malignant tumor last time, but it seems as though that weren't the case."

Annabeth was at loss for words, not for once doubting the word of the marine, "I apologize for being so hasty, Mr. Jackson. I was not aware of your familial situation."

"It's no matter, but the new treatment costs far exceed what I can afford," Percy continued, playing along with the scenario further.

"I…"

"It's alright. You couldn't have known anyway. If there's nothing else…" Percy stopped, allowing Annabeth a chance to speak.

"No, no. It's fine. I'll see you later at the barracks. I have to discuss expectations for tomorrow's training. I do expect to see you there, Jackson," Annabeth returned to her previous manner of addressing him, her eyebrows slightly lilted.

"Of course Captain Chase," Percy replied, bowing almost mockingly.

Percy turned back in direction of his barrack, swearing as he upbraided himself for being caught. Now Annabeth had his phone. The phone was programmed such that no messages or calls could be recorded, at least for a layman. But the U.S. Marines were not something to be reckoned with. They could easily decode the program in seconds. He felt slightly reassured knowing it was new phone that had only been used for contacting Nico two or three times.

He settled down on his bunk, taking the lower berth. Percy placed his hands on either side of him, struggling to keep himself in control. His bunkmates filtered in as each marine finished his shower at the training center. There were low murmurs of complaints as the men flopped onto their beds.

These men were quite clearly not used to being in the armed forces. They were weaklings. Percy scoffed at their lackadaisical attitude. The men were about his age, but they had never experienced the same thrill of serving their country. They were still teens at heart, but Percy knew that would change in a matter of days. Once they were sent on their first field missions, everything turned over. He could hear the man above already snoring in deep slumber. Percy thought condescendingly, '_these men are America's saviors.'_

He heard a knock on the barracks as the men stood up attention. Noting his bunkmate wasn't still up yet, he jabbed the other man hard in the arm, waking him up successfully.

Annabeth walked passed each section of the barracks to repeat the same set of instructions over and over. Her voice had gone hoarse by the time she neared Percy's section. She could have used a megaphone, but at the time, she hadn't seen its use.

"Section 10," she began as she stood in front of Percy and berth mates, "You will be under the special supervision of Major Luke Castellan tomorrow to be informed of your field assignments. He expects to see you all there at 5:30 AM sharp." As the other men groaned loudly in denial, Annabeth continued, "No excuses!"

The other marines nodded sullenly, returning back to their bunks. Percy turned to leave when Annabeth caught a hold of his arm, "Jackson, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you. I'll be waiting outside."

Percy nodded in acquiescence as he took out a windbreaker, zipping it up over his t-shirt and jeans. He followed the woman outside, noting that she too had changed. Her hair was tied up in a high bun still, but her appearance had changed completely from when he saw her an hour ago. She was wearing a gray blouse to compliment her eyes, a pair of black cargo pants to go with it. Annabeth looked at him expectantly as he cleared his throat. "You look nice," he offered.

Annabeth gave him an amused look, "Complimenting me, Jackson? What a nice change, but drop the formalities."

"M'am?"

"The whole M'am thing is starting to irritate me. Captain is fine, but not now. I came to talk, not as your commanding officer, but as fellow empathizer."

Telling from the bemused look on his face, Annabeth chuckled lightly, "Don't worry. I was referring to our conversation earlier… About your mother."

"Oh," Percy was beginning to feel all the discomfort crop up again as she broached the subject. She really didn't have to talk about it now, did she?

She continued, looking out at the falling dusk, "I know how it feels, you know. I lost my own mom to cancer at the age of seven."

Percy didn't know how to reply. Should he be empathetic or just sit there quietly and listen?

Annabeth didn't seem to care as she continued, "I grew up with my unsupportive father. He was a ruthless man, attempting to squelch the few things I did enjoy as a child."

He wasn't quite sure where this was heading, but he just sat there, letting her tell her story.

"With an unsupportive father, school was tough. I was pinned as a geek, nerd. I was called out on being an outcast. In fact, I preferred not being noticed," She laughed bitterly, "At times, I wished I could disappear. Disappearing as easy as just wearing a magical cap to become invisible. I had two friends in school. One died in an accident within a few years of meeting her. What I felt was an improvement in life was snatched away in her death. Her boyfriend, my other friend, was in his own shell that he struggled with."

Percy was astounded to see the tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks as she spoke. Annabeth blushed fiercely as she tried to wipe them away. Without his knowing, he grabbed her hand comfortably, giving it a quick squeeze.

He felt her shudder slightly at the touch, as though she was not used to this type of human interaction, "It'll be alright, Captain."

"Jackson, I don't want anyone to go through the same experience I did."

"Captain…"

"Annabeth."

"What?"

"Call me Annabeth."

"Annabeth, I know how it is. I grew up with a distant father. In fact, I didn't meet him until I was twelve. My mother was my sole support," Percy felt horrible for lying. It wasn't as though his mother was actually terminally ill.

The last few ebbs of her tears were still there. He knew that the mention of his mother had reminded of her own past, rubbing salt over an open wound that was still clearly fresh in her mind. Percy leaned across, using his thumb to rub away the last few lingering tears, repeating again, "It'll be fine."

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**Longest chapter yet. **

**I thought I might throw in some Percabeth. The story was lacking. Review for quicker updates. I'll try to update by Friday if I survive classes next week. Remember, more faves, reviews, follows = happier me = uploading chapters quicker = more Percabeth.**

**~TJ**


	8. Fist Fight

**As promised, shout out to those who reviewed my Percabeth proposal one-shot: Lilith Jae, readingnerd18, PercyJacksonLuva123, blackjack1709, SshannonW, RedNebulosity, Princess Annabeth Weasley Fowl, WisestOwl, AllieSecretlyLikesYou, Mayhaah, Singing Froggy, TheRedLioness, IceLumos963, kim3375, and Velocity Warren.**

**Your reviews made my day. Now, on to the story.**

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Percy woke up the next day with a renewed feeling guilt. Annabeth hadn't stayed much longer after letting him see her weak side. The good-bye had been rather curt, and Percy knew why. Annabeth, similar to him, had an obstinate side, a side which didn't allow for weakness.

Nevertheless, he still felt bad for lying. Private Percy Jackson was many things, but lying was not generally one of them. The remainder of his berth mates was still in deep slumber, snoring fitfully, not stirring in the least.

He got out of bed, donning a fresh uniform, one that he had yet to wear. Other than Annabeth, no one had said anything about his hair. In fact, no one had subjected him to strict scrutiny over his appearance. Unlike the other marines, he was left alone almost entirely, no one caring where he was. Only Annabeth had taken interest, more than duty, it was more of personal interest… That was putting it nicely. It was suspicion.

Percy sauntered over to the canteen, still in a half-slumber. He found Annabeth conversing with another man intently, positioned so that the other man was facing the opposite direction. Percy raised his hand hesitantly as though to wave, but Annabeth wasn't paying attention.

Deciding to grab a cup of coffee, he drank it in a gulp, causing him to choke. He sputtered out the bitter contents of the scathing hot black coffee, spitting it on the hard, concrete ground of the canteen floor. Annabeth and her companion turned to give him an appraising look.

The other man, Major Luke Castellan, gave Percy a half smirk before turning back to Annabeth. Annabeth's eyes narrowed as she scowled at Percy's scene. Percy wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his new uniform, leaving a brown stain on the otherwise blue coat.

He glanced up at Annabeth's direction, their eyes meeting for an instant. In that instant, Percy knew everything from the look she gave him. He was to forget everything. Yesterday didn't happen. Captain Annabeth Chase never exhibited weakness. There were no signs of camaraderie as there was last night.

Percy watched as Annabeth listened keenly to what Major Castellan was saying, her head bobbing once in a while in assent. She saluted Luke once, gave Percy an imperceptible nod before leaving the building in a hurry.

Luke turned around to look at Percy once more, holding his hand out to the latter, "Major Luke Castellan. I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you before."

Percy debated whether to shake his hand or not before finally deciding to give a firm grip, "Private Percy Jackson, sir." There were no signs of recognition in the former's eyes. The name Percy Jackson apparently meant nothing to him. Annabeth hadn't mentioned him to Luke before either.

Either that, or Luke was careful at hiding his emotions. Percy wasn't sure which it was yet, but there was no way Luke didn't have some idea as to who he was linked. The scar lining his cheek seemed as passive as the rest of his visage.

"Take a seat, Percy," The Major said conversationally, pulling up a chair for himself from a nearby table, the chair causing a scraping noise against the hard floor. The sound reminded Percy of someone scratching a chalkboard with her long nails. Luke motioned to the other chair. Percy took the seat, facing his superior.

"Sir."

"So Percy, how's training been thus far?"

"It's been going well, Major."

"I'm glad to hear," Luke scratched his chin thoughtfully, still trying to place the name to the deed.

"What company are you in?"

"10th, sir."

"Hmm, 10th, you said? Always been a good company. Best company there is if I do say so myself. We've gotten some really famous marines from that one. That was my company as a matter of fact," Luke added with a wink.

Percy sat there mutely, nodding once, not quite sure how to answer to that. Luke glanced down at his watch, his face contorting a little in surprise as he noted the time, "It's 5:20 already. We should start heading down, Private. You don't want to be late for your first field assignment do you?" Luke patted Percy once on his back before heading out the doors.

Percy remained there for a minute longer, slightly perplexed at what had just happened. This was the Luke he was sent here for? But, this guy didn't even remember his name, let alone their last encounter. He decided at the moment that Luke wasn't all that bad, a little condescending, but that came with his position in the marines.

But he knew he had to still be vigilant. Luke couldn't be that ignorant. Although he tried to pass it off nonchalantly, Percy had noticed it. Luke had been scratching his chin in obvious determination while speaking to Percy. He knew Percy, maybe not the name, but there was some link.

He got up, trudging his way to the where the field assignments were taking place. Percy found Captain Chase and Major Castellan conversing more as rows of marines stood in front of them. The two up at the front were gesturing to various squadrons in heated argument, trying to decide where to send each first.

Percy took his place with the rest of his berth mates who all breathed a sigh of relief as he stood in his position. Luke and Annabeth called up one member from each squadron to represent them. One of Percy's berth mates went to the front to receive the assignment. Normally, multiple squadrons were assigned to the same task.

"I hope we get aviation combat," one said enthusiastically, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Aviation?" Another snorted. "Hell no. There is no way you will get me up in the air. I'm going to remain with my two feet planted firmly on this ground. Men were not meant for flying."

Percy smirked a little at their petty quibbles. Like they had a choice. They were all just a bunch of idiots.

The man that had been summoned from their group returned, holding a large folder containing their duties. The manila envelope was tied shut with its characteristic red string.

"You guys ready?" he asked.

The others nodded eagerly while Percy looked down scornfully, his green eyes more somber than usual. The former opened the envelope in excitement, having some difficulty to unwind the string.

"Give it to me," Percy said irritably, snatching it away from the man's hand. The other man's face registered surprise as Percy tore the envelope open. He took out the bundle of files from inside, reading the top: _Ground Combat Element: Military Occupational Specialties_.

The man who had insisted on ground training let out a sigh of relief, "Thank god."

"I still wish we got aviation training."

The man who brought the envelope quickly piped up, "We'll have training in all, but we have to specialize in one. So, we start with this, and we'll get some occasional training with the other divisions, including but not limited to aviation, logistics, ammunition, command, and many more."

"You are actually excited for this?" Percy spoke up quietly.

"Yeah. Why else would we enlist?"

"Obviously you've never been in combat," Percy sneered, but the others were too busy to hear his snarky comment.

"Anyway," continued the man who brought the yellow manila, "They want us back for duty after breakfast at 6:30 sharp."

"Don't be late again, Jackson," one drawled with a strong Georgian accent.

"I wasn't late," Percy retorted sharply.

"Thank god, you got here right before they handed out assignments," one whispered.

"Yeah, man. Do you know how much trouble we would have gotten in if you didn't show up?" piped in another.

"Don't worry about it. I made it on time, didn't I?" Percy didn't want to mention that he had talked to Major Castellan lest they accuse him of getting preferential treatment. They had already seen him talk to Captain Chase last night.

"Too close man. Stay on top of it next time."

"Won't happen again."

"Look Jackson, you're making our division look bad already. First you were off canoodling who knows where with that Captain woman. Damn, she's hot and all…and the only girl within a hundred mile perimeter, but lay off on her bro. This is the military. You ain't got any time for people like her," the Georgian said.

Percy's fist clenched white in anger. He grabbed a hold of the other man's uniform by the collar, his hands shaking in anger, "Say that to my face, again, you bastard!"

Two of his other berth mates grabbed a hold of Percy from behind as another one grabbed his aggressor, trying to restrain both parties.

The Georgian spat, "Jackson, you really did, didn't you? Never thought you to be so sensitive. Guess I was wrong. Jackson, you truly are a sly mother fu****."

Percy's fist was within an inch of his face as he struggled with his restrainers. A hand grasped his arm strongly, not allowing for any movement. But this was all easy for Percy. He didn't box for nothing. His three restrainers had nothing on him.

Percy swung forward, pulling down at the same time, effectively ridding himself of his captor on the right. His right arm came up with enough force as it connected effectively with someone's nose. He heard the sickening crunch as his fist contacted the other person's nose.

The pressure on him didn't release…Meaning he hadn't attacked a captor. He looked up at the person grabbing his arm: Luke. That meant… Percy eyes moved past Luke's massive shoulders, spotting his target. The cold, hard, steely gray eyes of his victim flashed once in bitter anger as they made contact, turning around to leave.

* * *

**If you have time, check out the Percabeth one-shot I wrote, called **_**A Modest Proposal**_**.**

**I think the next update will be Friday this time…unless I die. I have reason to believe this week will be the death of me.**

**Anyway, till then, make sure to review, fave, or follow, or else… Percy will punch you too.**

**For Mother's Day next week, I'm planning on writing a one shot with Percy and Annabeth. To my fans who read 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant, it will be a spin off from that. What do you say? Should I do it?**

**Cheers!**

**~TJ**


	9. Concussion?

**I survived. Amazing. Now to survive next week too.**

**And...wait for it... _The Great Gatsby_ movie came out today. **

**Anyway, onto the story.**

* * *

"Sh*t man…" One of the men whispered, "You just punched Captain Chase."

Percy's face registered outright shock, unable to believe that he had just broken Annabeth's nose. No, that can't be right. He couldn't have put that much force into the punch.

Major Castellan looked at him in a new manner, assessing him once more. He looked on thoughtfully, clearly not concerned about his officer's wellbeing. But Luke had enough reason to believe Annabeth was capable of taking care of herself.

He let go of his grasp on Percy as the latter shook off the other's restraining arm. Luke nodded once at Percy's questioning glare. Percy took off immediately, a million thoughts racing through his head.

How would Annabeth react? She was already ticked at him, and he wasn't doing much to get on her good side. Thus far, she had been slightly lenient on him. Maybe it was because she was suspicious, letting him do his thing and see where it led, but even this was too much.

He found her in the canteen again, nursing her wound with an ice pack. It really wasn't a pretty sight to see. She had a small pile of bloodied tissues next to her as she kept one hand with an ice pack firmly up against her nose. The beginnings of a nasty, purplish yellow bruise were starting to form on the side, already throbbing.

She wasn't paying attention to his entrance, her eyes fixated on the steel surface of the canteen tables instead.

"Annabeth," he said hesitantly, not wanting to startle her.

The look she gave him was similar to that of the one she had given him previously. The same harsh, gray, steely eyes stared back at him. They were not unkind. That would be an understatement; they were murderous, filled with hatred. She acknowledged his presence out of pure courtesy, "That's Captain Chase to you, Jackson."

Percy cleared his throat, "I am really sorry. I wasn't aiming for you."

"Obviously not," she sneered, "What more can I expect from the great boxer? Jackson, look here. I couldn't care less about being punched in the nose or its effects. What pisses me off is your attitude. As far as I can see, you aren't taking this the least bit serious. You don't just pick fights like that no matter what others say."

"I apologize," he said once more, quietly.

"Sorry doesn't cut it. You think that just because you declined a post in the Navy, you can do what you want here in the Marines. We take this seriously. I've been tolerating your attitude because of Secretary Mabus. Had it not been for him, you would have been booted the second you stepped foot in this enclosure. I expected better," towards the end of her tirade, Annabeth suddenly seemed weaker, as though speaking had taken all the energy from her.

"Captain?" Percy asked uncertainly as her head swayed a little. Annabeth covered her face with both her hands. Almost instantaneously, her head slouched forward, her face about to hit the cold metal surface of the table in front of her.

Percy managed to grab right before her head landed with a sickening thud on the hard table, starting to panic slightly. He had never been one to administer first aid before, and seeing Annabeth like this only put him to further shock. He was responsible for this.

Pulling the chair out urgently, he lifted Annabeth carefully, making sure not to hit anything as he hoisted her up on to his back. He made sure her arms were securely around his neck, her legs strapped around his waist. Her face lolled on his shoulder; the near proximity of it unnerved Percy slightly as he looked at the bloody nose. A punch to the nose couldn't cause a concussion could it? He had heard cases of fatal brain trauma, but the punch wasn't that hard. No matter how he tried to justify his actions, the product was right there in front of him.

Whatever be the case, Annabeth Chase either had a concussion or disorientation. But, she had managed to walk to the canteen after it. But speaking had exerted much of her remaining energy, causing her to slip into a semi-conscious state.

He couldn't let anyone see her like this. Percy knew perfectly well Annabeth's reaction were he to embarrass her. The last option that remained was to take her to the health facility via the back entrance of the canteen.

The way he walked was similar to that of a spy, making sure no one was watching as he carried his captain out. The medical facility was about a half mile from their current location, but everyone else was still in preparation for their field mission.

As he turned to give a quick glance, he noticed that the blood hadn't stopped yet. A little red smear appeared on his new uniform as he shuddered a little. It wasn't the blood that had bothered him. After all, he had been shot in the leg and recovered _mostly_. But seeing Annabeth so decapitated was enough to make him feel even a little queasy.

The walk seemed even longer than usual as the sweltering sun beat down his back. Carrying Annabeth was no easy picnic either. She was heavier than he had expected. No, it was not meant to be an insult, but it was understandable. With all the layers of attire officers were expected to wear, he wouldn't have been surprised if she had passed out from heat stroke.

Percy felt himself getting thirstier with every step. The dust in front of him was starting to pick up with the wind, forming a cloudy like haze. Great. It was like he was in the middle of the Sahara freakin' desert. Percy had a bone to pick with whoever decided his fate for the day. For some reason, an image of three old women kitting popped into his mind. He quickly waved off, naming it a hallucination from the heat and lack of water.

After what seemed to be hours, he found himself nearing the Marine clinic. With some considerable effort, he pushed the door open. An elderly woman came hurrying up to the swinging door, holding it open as he trudged him.

His arms were beginning to give out. The old woman helped him place Annabeth on one of the couches in the reception area.

"Oh dear," she fretted, "That's Captain Chase, isn't it?"

Percy nodded once, "She might have a concussion."

The woman looked up sharply from examining Annabeth, "What?"

"The punch she received was enough to make her unconscious, but I don't know if it's anything worse than that."

The old lady, Mrs. Aegle Arnolds as the nametag read, looked up at him dubiously, "Might I ask how she incurred the injury?"

Percy scratched his head nervously, feeling a little shameful, "It was my doing. She was in the way when I accidentally punched her. It was an accident!" He added the last part defensively as Mrs. Arnolds raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

Another younger woman came over with a quick step, leaning over to whisper something in Mrs. Arnolds's ear before giving Percy a quick shy smile and leaving.

"Young man, I will have to ask you to carry her again," Mrs. Arnolds gestured to the inert body of Annabeth. "We're not sure if we have adequate treatment if it does result in some brain injury, but we'll see what we can do. Whatever the case may be, it will take her a while to recover. It looks like it might be a nose bridge fracture."

"But, it was just a punch," he protested.

"Don't argue with me, Private. I have seen cases similar to this. Often times, people tend to underestimate things until they get serious. If I credit you for anything, it's for bringing her over immediately."

Percy scooped Annabeth up once more, this time in his arms. He was able to see a much clearer view of her face. It was worse than he had thought it was. The bleeding had stopped externally but the bruise looked even worse than before. The ice pack no longer covering the right part of her face, he noted the spread of the purple color wound, wincing every time he realized it was fault.

"Feeling guilty?" Mrs. Arnolds asked, her mouth twisted in a slight grin.

"Unbelievably so… I didn't actually think it was possible. I'm still in denial."

"You're in denial even after seeing her face? Are you blind? Young man, accept the mistake," she led him into one of the small rooms with some ventilation. The window was slightly open, only allowing for more dust than air to enter. The cot looked even more uncomfortable than the ones back in the barrack. Percy laid her down carefully, avoiding the back of cot frame.

"Then, I'll be leaving," he said quietly.

"I'll contact you if something happens. You are still responsible for Miss Chase's accident."

"I understand."

"Well then, you'll have to come back to the front entrance to sign some of the liability forms," she turned, leaving before he had a chance to speak.

Taking one last despondent look at Annabeth's blond head lying on the cot made him feel more shameful than he already was. So far, all of his actions had resulted in negative consequences for her. He knew the longer he stayed in there, the higher the stakes were that he'd either make something else worse or feel guilt-ridden.

As he took a step, a cold, clammy hand reached to grasp his wrist. He heard her stir in the bed slightly, as she slurred, still not fully conscious, "Don't leave yet, Jackson."

* * *

**So, yeah… The whole thing about Percy feeling thirsty was because I was feeling really thirsty while writing this chapter, but I was too lazy to get up and get a drink.**

**I'm hoping to get out the Percabeth Mother's Day One-shot on Sunday. It's supposed to be a spin off from my other story, **_**100 Days with Mr. Arrogant**_**, but it can be read as a stand-alone story too with just some references to the story, so keep an eye out for that.**

**Lastly, make sure to leave a review, fave, and follow for quicker updates. I will try to update by Thursday, but no promises. But actually, review and fave.**

**~TJ**


	10. Aviation Training or Death?

**I said I was going to update by last Thursday; I lied. Anyway, summer isn't for another 2 weeks, so until then, bear with my slower than molasses updates.**

**I know it's kind of late now, but I did write the Percabeth Mother's Day one-shot. It's posted if you want to still check it out.**

* * *

Percy turned around to face his Captain, asking in surprise, "M'am?"

She opened one eye as though she were amused, "Where are you going Jackson?"

"I was just going…back to… To, you know, my field assignment training."

Annabeth tried to sit up against the hard back of the uncomfortable cot. Percy steadied her, propping her up properly, "Don't strain yourself."

Captain Chase raised an eyebrow, "Didn't know you were so caring. But thank you Jackson. Thank you for carrying me over here."

Percy let out a bit of a dry chuckle, "You're thanking me? I was the one who punched you. Either way you see it, I was the clear cause of the problem."

"Jackson, it's just a punch. It's not like you shot me or something."

Percy's ears perked up at the mention of shooting. Could she possibly remember now? No, it was just an analogy. Nothing more. He nodded once, "Just get some rest. I should get back before Major Castellan gets even more ticked off."

Annabeth grinned, but the expression on her face suggested that it pained, "Hm, I doubt Luke will be that upset. He knows you were with me, but you should get going anyway. Just in case."

As he turned to leave once more, she added, "And Jackson, try to stay out of trouble until I recover."

Percy half-turned so that she could see the hint of a grin on his face. Without another, he returned to the reception area to fill out the forms where he was stopped once more by a disapproving Mrs. Arnolds, "Young man, watch what you do. I'm still holding you accountable for Captain Chase's health."

"Of course."

By the time Percy had reached the barracks, the various platoons had dispersed to their respective field assignments. There was a marine or two lingering around as guards. Percy approached one in hopes of finding out where to go next. "10th Company?" he demanded.

The man merely pointed in direction of the ocean.

Percy stared in disbelief. They didn't actually expect him to have to fly, did they? If head had wanted to fly, he would have joined the Air Force instead of the Navy when he had first enlisted.

It was true that he had been overseas before. After all, that was where he had incurred his wound, but the return was what had traumatized him, traumatized him to a point where he couldn't even step on another plane without trembling.

If there was weakness that betrayed Private Perseus Jackson, it was his fear of flying. Percy knew that the landing pad for the plane bases was located near the coast, but he had never assumed he would have to go within a mile perimeter of the place.

With a sense of impending doom, Percy walked in direction of the inland air base. He found his berth mates in the barrack-like building located in front of the landing pad. The man lecturing gave him a look of disdain as gestured towards where Percy should sit.

Percy squeezed himself between the two men who had been restraining him earlier, luckily, far away from the Georgian man.

The man in front appeared to be an old retiree of the Air Force in charge of teaching Marines the basics of flight controls. In Percy's mind, he seemed more disgruntled than anything to be there. He had an irritating little goatee that looked as prickly as his name, Dr. Thorn.

His deep voice droned on incessantly as he went into detail about the importance of every single control in the cockpit. Occasionally, he would whack the board with his long wooden pointer stick to wake the snoozing marines from their boredom. Percy tried to stay awake, but it was futile. It was like being in class again.

Dr. Thorn was reiterating, "If you don't listen up now, I will make sure you don't chance to fly."

That was fine with Percy. He was tempted to even let Dr. Thorn know, but remembering Annabeth's words to stay out of trouble, he kept his mouth closed. Dr. Thorn eyed him funnily, his eyes two different sharply contrasting colors. The old general seemed to already harbor negative feelings towards the young marine. Percy fought back the uncomfortable feeling from the gaze, attempting to sit still with the man's eyes trained on him.

As Percy began to doze off again, a sharp voice barked, "Dismissed!"

Percy stood up to leave with the rest of his berth mates only to be held back by Dr. Thorn, "Hey you there! The one that walked in late." Private Jackson stopped in his tracks, waiting for the retired Air Force general to approach him. The man squinted his eyes in attempt to read his name. "Jackson. Let this be clear starting today. I hate irresponsible latecomers. I absolutely despise them. One more tardy, and that will be the last thing you ever do."

He was getting really tired of these death threats. First Annabeth, now Dr. Thorn. What was with these military people? Is killing all they ever thought about? For some reason, it reminded Percy briefly of his own benefactor and Nico. The unpleasant memory caused him to shudder in repulsion, "Yes sir." There was no use in making excuses and saying that he was helping Annabeth.

Percy hadn't noticed how long the old man had lectured for, but it was nearing early evening. Most of the men were heading back to take a shower before getting ready to shower. Percy supposed he should do the same when a thought struck him: Captain Chase.

Making a side trip to visit her wouldn't be a bad idea, right? Mrs. Arnolds had made it clear that he was responsible, and the medical building wasn't too far from here. Just a quick stop before showering. He would still have plenty of time before having to be there for dinner.

On this quick whim, he sprinted half the distance to the other facility, slowing down when he was within 50 yards of the building to smooth down his hair. He didn't want to give her the appearance of being eager to see her. He wasn't eager per se, but he did still feel guilty and her speedy recovery was one of his top priorities, if only for keeping up image.

Truthfully, Percy knew, deep in his heart, that a sick Annabeth would be more beneficial to his mission than detrimental. In fact, it would get rid of his main obstacle without having to do anything to her.

He stopped midstride. This was his opportunity to step back out before he fell into the hole deeper. Letting Annabeth recuperate. He didn't need to be there, but the image dilemma came forward again. He couldn't just abandon her; it would only raise more suspicion on him then there already was.

Percy reasoned with himself. He didn't want this on his record. Annabeth had to recover, even if it just added to the difficulty of the mission.

He walked in, opening the door with unsteady arms. Percy found Mrs. Arnolds in the same location as she had been when he had left earlier at noon. The woman now bore a grim look on her face, her demeanor serious. "Mr. Jackson," she began with almost an ominously prophetic voice.

"Mrs. Arnolds?" Percy blinked in question.

"Captain Chase."

"What about her?"

"She slipped into a coma after you left. The ambulance had to take her to the hospital: Greenville Memorial Hospital."

"What?!"

Mrs. Arnolds had one word to say, "Go."

* * *

**I know this chapter was relatively short. You've also seen the result of my update promises, but I will do my best. I want to finish this story by June as I will be out of town most of July and August. **

**Anyway, make sure to give it a read, fave, follow, and review.**

**One more thing, I was planning my next Percabeth story. I'm putting my HP/PJO one on hold till I get inspiration again.**

**As for the PJO stories, I need you all to vote on the two possibilities. Choose 1 or 2:  
1) It's senior year after the Great war against Gaea. Annabeth transfers to Goode to attend with Percy. Where's the catch you may ask. The catch that separates this from all the other Annabeth goes to Goode stories? Percy and Annabeth are married.**

**2) This one is similar to the story, **_**Playful Kiss**_**, I was going to write based on a drama. This would be AU. Annabeth has admired Percy since freshmen year. Now, both are going to be seniors. She doubts Percy even knows of her existence. The cold, introverted Percy is held in God-like status in his class for his brains and his athletic abilities. He hates girls like Annabeth, but a freak of nature causes the two to live in the same house. Will they be able to survive?**

**Yes, they are both romance stories. So, when you review this story, also review 1 or 2.**

**This is a long A/N. And…in case I haven't said it enough, review. Those who review get a shout-out in the next chapter.**

**~TJ**


	11. The Treachery of a Black Eyed Assassin

**So as promised, shout-outs to those who reviewed: Queen of Reading, Lexie Daughter of Athena, jedikhaleesi, TheWall1706, , fanficrulz1, Velocity Drew Warren, thestoryreader99, blankslate97, zerowinz, Wonderland21, ChaserMoonstone, Demigodling Marauder, , ElmoDaHorse, Greek Wise Girl, Addy99, Lilith Jae, Athena's Gray Owl, blackjack1709, Finding Adventures, WElaine21, book-freak20.**

**I counted up the votes for the stories:**

**Option 1: 8 votes**

**Option 2: 11 votes**

**In other news, I finally saw **_**The Great Gatsby**_** today. I'm currently fangirling over the Leo and his beautiful castle of a house in the movie. **

**Anyway, I hope this chapter and the next clear up some of the confusion. I can't get rid of all the enigma now, can I?**

* * *

Percy stood there in pure shock, unable to respond to the situation. Captain Chase…coma…his fault. No, it wasn't possible. No matter how much he prided his boxing skills, that one punch wasn't enough to induce someone into a coma, especially not a coma with such a delayed reaction. There had to be something else going on.

"No…" he finally whispered.

Mrs. Arnolds, from what Percy could tell, was doing her all to keep calm and restrain herself from shaking some sense into him, "Boy, how many times must I tell you?"

He collapsed into one of the beaten couches in the reception room, his face in his hands, murmuring no repeatedly to himself. This was bad, really bad. If the rest of the company found out he had just caused someone to slip into a coma, the scrutiny on him would be even greater than it already was.

Mrs. Arnolds stood there with her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently on the floor, "Well?"

"What am I to do?" he almost pleaded with her.

"Go," she repeated.

"What?"

Mrs. Arnolds threw him a pair of keys which he deftly caught with one hand. Percy looked at them in disbelief as the realization dawned on him before turning to her, "You aren't serious, are you?"

She snorted, "Young man, if I'm anything, I'm serious."

"But, how… I can't just leave!"

"I can pull a few strings here and there. Besides, you are responsible. I've notified the admin office of the circumstances. You do have more forms to fill out. With your presence at the hospital, I'm sure you can describe the incident with detail," she added in a clipped voice.

"So, you're giving me permission to leave?"

"Are you dense? I must have repeated that five different ways," she snapped irritably. "Yes, now go. Take your id with you or no entry."

Percy walked out of the office in a zombie-like trance, still unable to comprehend the situation at hand. Annabeth slipped into a delayed coma. Mrs. Arnolds was insistent on his leaving to go take care of the issue. What authority did she have in the marines to do anything? Well, medical authority did hold quite a bit of precedence over other items of priority. To add to that, Annabeth Chase was one of the well-ranked officers in the company.

He looked at the building he had been directed to. It was a large garage of sorts. He cranked the lever open slowly until the door was half lifted, just enough for a car to come out. Percy whistled as he got a look at the cars in the large warehouse like building. He clicked the open button on the key, following the beeping sound to its respective car.

There it was, at the end of the line, a large dark green, camouflage patterned Hummer. It wasn't conspicuous at all he thought to himself sarcastically. She didn't actually expect him to drive that. There was no way they'd allow him, or trust him for that matter.

He approached the car slowly. The more he looked at it, the worse it became. He almost felt an overwhelming feeling of nervousness. Percy got in to the car, adjusted the mirrors for his comfort before turning the car on, the large roar of the revving engine causing him to wince. Nope, not discrete at all. Someone was going to find out.

He made sure to back-out without hitting any of the other numerous cars. Just who did any of these cars belong to anyway? The one he was driving was clearly marine property. No one else could have such horrible paint job on the car.

Percy looked at the numerous Mercedes and BMWs he passed. They clearly belonged to the officers. So, this is what they did with their money. Buy rich cars. Figures. Percy snorted in contempt. What caught his eye was a sleek black Audi nestled in the corner of the garage, the license plate reading Castellan. Major Castellan's car… Percy almost stopped his car.

Could it be… Possibly? Percy knew he had to come back to give the car a once look over. Luke wasn't careless enough to leave anything of importance in his car, but even something small was better than nothing at all.

He looked at the illuminated screen as the GPS instructed him. The current time read 5:21 PM. Great, he was going to miss dinner again. But what about hospital visiting hours? They didn't stay all that late. By the time he reached Greenville Memorial hospital, the time was at 5:45.

The lady at the front desk directed him to a room #314, instructing visiting hours were till 6:30 on weekdays. He let out a sigh of relief; he had plenty of time. Percy wasn't quite sure how to react, but considering the fact Annabeth was currently in coma, there wouldn't be much interaction.

Now that she was in the state, Percy wasn't quite sure whether to be glad at his fortune, the fact that Annabeth was out of his way or if he should feel some more responsibility. In a way, it was a blessing that Annabeth was in a coma. The other way planned to get her out of the picture would have been…gory to say the least.

He knocked on the door to find it being opened by a boy younger than him. He appeared to be just leaving, his coat hanging over his arm. The other man held out his hand, "Matthew Chase. Annabeth's brother."

Percy stood there for a second, wide-eyed as he shook hands. She had a brother? Annabeth had talked about her family once. He knew her mother had died, and that her father had more or less disowned her, but a brother.

Matthew let out a slight dry chuckle, "I take it from your reaction that you're surprised. I get the feeling. Annabeth hated us, so I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't mention us. The animosity was reciprocated, but liabilities, who knew that would be what brought us together here again? The irony." Casting one last smirk at the room, Matthew left, leaving Percy alone.

No wonder Annabeth hadn't mentioned the guy. He was a world class jerk from just his manner of speaking. But who was he to judge? He himself was exponentially worse.

Percy looked at Annabeth's peaceful 'sleeping face'. No longer in her uniform, he could hardly recognize the figure in front of him. Her short blond hair had curls in them, giving her the appearance of a flapper girl from the 20's. Her generally fierce gray eyes were closed, making her have a more angelic face.

As if to add salt to old wounds, it reminded Percy of his Rachel. Had the two been side by side and eyes closed, the two would have been twins, minus the red hair and freckles. The personalities matched too, the same intelligent, independent character.

Percy brought the chair to the bedside, the side opposite all the IVs. He knew that people in comas could be in it anywhere from a few weeks to a few decades. As he looked at her peaceful figure, the guiltier he felt. She was in the state because of him. All of his past actions had only resulted in ticking her off…or in this case, inducing a coma.

He picked one of her cold, clammy hands, bringing it up for examination. Percy held them in his own hands. Had Annabeth been awake, he would have never dared anything like this, but he planted a gentle kiss on her hand, almost as though trying to make up for what he had done, "Captain, I really am sorry. If you can hear me, forgive me."

Percy wasn't quite sure what else to do after filling out the forms at her bedside. Most of them, he couldn't even answer. Many personal questions that Percy would have never thought to ask her. Deciding it was pointless to stay any longer, he gave her one last lingering look of pity before handing the clipboard at the front desk.

The time now read 6:23 PM. Mrs. Arnolds had excused him until 8:00 according to the pass. That gave Percy just enough time to ring someone up. He walked over to the nearest pay phone. He dialed the number he had memorized by now. On the receiving end, the phone was picked up on its third ring.

"Hello?" a sleepy voiced answered as though it were already bored with the conversation.

"Di Angelo?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, who is it?"

"It's Jackson."

Percy could almost hear the smirk on Nico di Angelo's lips as he replied, "Figured you'd call eventually. Alright Jackson, let's go on a date, shall we? Don't worry. We've been watching your every step."

"How…"

"Don't worry about it. Let's just say my network has sources. If my deductions are correct. You are less than a mile from where I am now. How about we meet at the Starbucks down the street from you in ten minutes?"

"The hell?! How the hell do you know my location?"

Di Angelo ignored his outburst, "Don't be late. I'm sure you'll be interested in what I have to say."

"Why would I want to meet you?" Percy had to admit though that he was curious as to who this di Angelo was. He was the closest he had to direct connections to his sponsor. In fact, he had never seen his sponsor. Percy knew one thing about his sponsor, and that was his business name.

"Oops..." Di Angelo chuckled. "Don't tell me you haven't figured it out till now, Jackson? I expected you to be smarter. No, your little blond Barbie didn't slip into the coma from just your punch. I have to admit, it helped though, so thank you for doing your part."

Percy spoke slowly as he registered what he had said, "What are you insinuating?"

"We drugged her. Heavily. Enough to be lethal. Still want to meet me?" The other man proposed the question as a challenge.

"F*** you, di Angelo."

* * *

**This is the longest chapter so far for those keeping record. **

**I hope this plot is interesting enough. Many people have demanded why it has so many plot twists. Honest truth is that I just write. I never know what will happen in the next chapter until I write. I have a vague idea as to how I want to end the story, but the rising action is on the spot.**

**Anyway, let's try to hit 200 reviews. Virtual blue cookies if we do. **

**Review, fave, follow!**

**~TJ**


	12. Confrontation with a Black Eyed Assassin

**We were close enough to 200 reviews, so half virtual blue cookies. Fair warning: If the conversation sounds loopy at any point, it's because I am currently on cold medicine… Which makes people go slightly loco.**

* * *

Percy hung up the phone, the echoes of Nico di Angelo's nerve-chilling laugh echoing in his head. The d*ck had drugged Annabeth to a point of inducing a coma. And what about the whole spying deal? He was the spy in the marines for them, a spy with a mission. But now, they have a spy for a spy. These guys don't leave any stone unturned.

He shuddered at the thought as a chill breeze swept by. Mrs. Arnolds had given him another hour till curfew, plenty of time to meet Nico before returning.

As Nico had said, the coffeehouse was indeed across the street from him. Percy entered Starbucks with an air of foreboding, his hand pausing for a second on the door handle. Having entered, he figured he might well as buy something to throw off suspicion.

He ordered a simple vanilla latte and took his seat beside the window to get a glance at those passing-by. A man entered the café with a black brim hat, like in those detective novels. His trench coat collar was popped up, and a pair of Ray-Bans masked his eyes.

The man murmured a few words to the waiter before walking to where Percy was sitting. He took the seat opposite Percy, the wooden chair making a scraping sound against the tiles, crossing one leg over the other. The server brought out a cup of steaming plain, brewed coffee. Percy could imagine the bitter taste by just looking at it. The other man slipped the server a ten dollar bill before turning back to coffee.

"Some expensive coffee," Percy remarked dryly.

The other man shrugged impassively, "Not on my tab." He took off his sunglasses to reveal his dark, almost soulless eyes. They seemed to sink for eternity in a deep pit of eternal night. He tucked the sunglasses on the collar of his shirt. The man had a grin on his mouth as he spoke up again, "Pleasure to meet you Jackson."

Nico di Angelo held out his hand which Percy shook with scorn, "Can't say I reciprocate the feelings."

Di Angelo let out a hoarse, throaty laugh which seemed to mimic the sound of fingernails grating on a chalkboard, "It looks as though we could be brothers Jackson. Our personalities are something left to be desired for."

"Enough with the small talk. Get to the point. Why'd you do it? And who's the infiltrator?"

"All in due time. All in due time. Patience is a virtue."

Percy was already getting irritated with the man's manner of speaking, somewhat old-fashioned and condescending.

"Let me enjoy my coffee," Nico continued, taking a sip from his now lukewarm bitter coffee. Percy resisted the urge to gag at the mere thought of the coffee. He sat there with his arms across his broad chest, impatiently waiting for Nico to take his own leisurely time.

"Take all the time you want. I have to be back in forty-five minutes," he muttered sarcastically. Nico grinned as he caught a hold of Percy's tone, his eyebrows rising a little.

"I can sense your impatience Jackson. You might want to work on that."

"Don't worry di Angelo. I will. Punching someone in the face always did relieve my anger management issues."

"Like you did with Annabeth? Sexual tension?" Nico mocked as he took another sip.

Percy once more resisted the urge to punch the guy, "And I suppose you drug people for fun?"

Nico's face immediately soured, "I was under orders as you are supposed to be. I have to admit, like the boss said, you seem a little lax with the issue at hand."

This was enough to fuel Percy's anger. He kept his voice in a low, hurried venomous tone, "Di Angelo, if there is anyone who wants more vengeance than the boss, it's me. You saw what he did to Rachel. I will never forget."

He almost spat the last word at Nico's face. Nico looked at him curiously, "You were always keen on Rachel. I never understood why."

"Have you ever loved anyone?"

"No."

"Then don't expect to be sympathetic. Rachel was the closest person to my heart, di Angelo. The person who killed her will be expected to pay. I'm not going to let it go just like that."

"You think I haven't suffered either?" Nico asked quietly.

"What?"

"Why do you think he recruited me, Jackson? He picks up those whose minds are focused on the revenge. He cultivates the feeling and channels it towards his own personal goal. Personally I don't mind. I just want those who killed Bianca to lie at my feet, begging for my mercy as I persecute them."

"Bianca being…?"

"My sister," he replied curtly.

"You still haven't answered my question. Why drug Annabeth?"

"Why? Do you like her?" he asked Percy shrewdly, looking him straight in the eye.

"No. I can't afford to fall in love, especially not after her involvement in Rachel's death. You think I'm a traitor?"

"I was making your job easier," he replied simply.

"How so?"

"I got rid of Annabeth for you. You have more access to Luke as you had wanted. No more Annabeth to play watchdog. I figured you wouldn't want to kill her, so I just drugged her. The dosage was fatal enough, but only twenty-five percent of the time. If she recovers from the concussion you gave her, she should be able to get rid of the effects of the drug. But, she should be out of action until you've had a chance to…um… clean things up a bit."

"You sly dog," Percy grinned at the thought, "Your sources. How'd you get in?"

"Like I said, you'll find out when the time comes."

"I hate being spied on, di Angelo."

"Too bad, he insists."

"I don't care what he wants. This is my revenge as much as it's his. I don't even know why he's so intent on it."

"He doesn't tell me these things either. I've only seen him twice in the five years I've worked for him."

"I want to talk to him," Percy said abruptly.

"What?"

"I need to speak to him, not today, but soon."

"You can't just call him."

"Tomorrow Nico. Same time, same place. I want to call him...On your phone."

"You sure man?" he asked dubiously.

"I need to know what the bastard is up to," Percy got up to leave, leaving the waiter a tip. Nico's eyes trailed him out, watching him until he went out.

Nico quickly picked up his phone and punched in the numbers furiously on the touch screen. The receiver picked up the phone on the third ring.

"Yes?" a deep, low voice answered the found, a voice that sound like metal scraping against itself. "Di Angelo?"

"Boss," Nico began nervously. The voice sent him to a state of anxiety he hadn't felt before. It scared him truthfully. "He wants to speak with you tomorrow."

The voice considered, pausing for a moment, "Let him. I want to hear what he has to say."

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**So, hopefully that cleared up a few things here and there…except for whom Percy and Nico are working for. And yes…the Percabeth will come. **

**If you can guess who the voice is correctly in your review, I'll plan something…once we get to the part where it's revealed. **

**Make sure to read, review, fave, follow.**

**~TJ**


	13. Memories of a Blue Eyed Marine

**There should have been one line in the last chapter that gave away who Percy's boss is. Anyway, the chapter after this should fix the loose ends. **

**I lead such a sad life… I typed the first two paragraphs perfectly without once looking at the keyboard. If I mess up, I'm blaming it on Dota, the song I'm currently listening to… Not like any of you cared anyway.**

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Percy booked it back to base, reaching with twenty minutes to spare before the entrance was gated for the night. The night was unusual quiet as not a single marine was in sight. His stomach growled to remind him of his dinnerless night.

The mess hall would still have something there, right? If not dinner, a bowl of corn flakes would suffice for Percy. Sleeping on an empty stomach, on the other hand, was a big no.

As he walked in direction of the mess, his thoughts wandered back to the conversation he had just had with Nico di Angelo. Percy's foot absentmindedly kicked at a pebble in his path in frustration at the thought of the other man.

So, the man had done him a favor by drugging Annabeth, but…Now suspicion was going to be thrown on him. After all, many people had witnessed Percy punching Annabeth full on. That wouldn't be taken lightly too. They knew he would have some connection behind her coma, a connection that they would most likely not forget.

Percy sighed; how the hell had he gotten himself into this mess? It was all that bastard Nico's fault. But deep inside, Percy knew even Nico wasn't the one to blame. It was his boss. As much as he anticipated the conversation the next day, he dreaded it. This man exercised enough control on his men even without directly contacting them. How would he be if he actually talked to them directly?

He found the doors locked to the mess hall. Percy groaned in despair as he tugged once more on the door handles. He sat against the door dejectedly. He knew there were people inside as the lights were still turned on; perhaps it was the cleaning crew.

"You alright there?" a voice spoke up from the darkness. Percy had to squint to make out the figure approaching him. The light from inside the mess hall reflected back on the man in front of him: Major Luke Castellan.

Percy stood up and dusted off his pants as he addressed his superior, "It's nothing. Just a little disappointed that the dining hall is already closed for the night."

Luke chuckled a little, "Haven't you gotten their open hours schedule yet? They are quite adherent to it and not willing to work a single second over time."

Percy merely shook his head in rejoinder, "I had no clue."

"So, I presume you just got back?" Luke continued.

"Excuse me?"

"From visiting Anna—Captain Chase?" he quickly corrected himself, reminding himself not to express familiarities in regards to her, but it was too late. Percy had caught the little slip, his mind registering the significant detail for later.

"Mrs. Arnolds told me to go to Greenville Memorial Hospital for forms and liability issues. So, I went and checked up on her."

"Any status?"

Percy wasn't going to tell him about Nico di Angelo's partaking in the incident. In fact, even Nico wasn't quite sure how long the blond haired captain would be in a coma for. He settled for the simple answer, "They're not sure how long it will take for her to recover."

Luke nodded once understandingly. "Strong punch you got there," he noted.

"Training," Percy shrugged.

"Here?" Luke raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Should he mention it? This would be a good way to judge his reaction, see if it triggers anything from him. Besides, it couldn't hurt if Annabeth knew already. It might add something to his credibility if anything. "I trained with the Navy first," he finally said after much internal debate.

As Percy had anticipated, he got exactly the reaction he had expected. Luke's eyes widened until they seemed to be bugging out of his face. There were no traces of his calm and composure on his face from a second ago. He looked de-masked as he quickly tried to fix the shocked look on his face.

Percy knew something had clicked inside the major's mind to cause him to completely lose composure like that. He had remembered something. The whole incident was clearly not evident yet, otherwise there should have been fear in his eyes.

More than fear, it was as though Percy had triggered an unpleasant memory, the details still hazy. Luke managed to control his emotions as he spoke, the slight undertone of his shaken surprise still visible, "You were in the Navy?"

"Yes…"

"Might I ask your reason for transfer?"

"I got bored."

"You got bored… You call that a reason for transfer?" Major Castellan asked with incredulity.

Percy merely shrugged his shoulders, "Why not? I'm still serving my country which is more than what most people do. I wasn't all that pleased with the leadership in my company, so I figured this was the next best."

"You don't regret it? Going through training again?"

"No, not at all. To be truthful, it's been two years since I left. It's nice to be able to get back in shape again."

Luke's eyes betrayed his curiosity as Percy continued, feeding him the same lie he had fed Annabeth a week earlier, "I stayed at home tending to my mother. She's a cancer patient."

"Oh," Luke's curiosity fell to something more befitting, a look of sympathy.

"Anyway Major, I think people will start having doubts if I keep missing all my trainings," Percy made a motion to leave.

Luke glanced at his watch, "They should be letting out of evening practice in about ten minutes. I wouldn't say it's worth your time going. One last thing, Jackson. Are you planning on visiting Annabeth tomorrow?"

"Hm, I was thinking about it. I feel responsible for it all."

"Don't worry about it. Just focus on your training. I'll go pay her a visit in your place," Luke offered. To Percy's ears, it sounded more like an order than an offer.

"No!" he said on sudden impulse.

Luke looked at him in surprise at the outburst. Percy quickly backtracked to explain himself as he lied smoothly, "By the time I had arrived, visiting hours were almost over. I still have some forms to fill out."

The Major looked at him curiously, deciding what to say first, "You are one dedicated man, Jackson. One truly dedicated man. I will see you at training tomorrow. And just for future reference, there is a stash of instant noodles in the barracks' cupboard."

Percy waited until the man was gone, releasing a sigh of relief. The tension still remained in the air from their encounter. If he wanted something to happen, he had to act fast. Fast before Luke began to react in retaliation. Fast before Luke could piece the whole puzzle together.

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**This chapter was probably horrible, but I'm still recovering from my cold.**

**Anyway, leave a review, fave, or follow.**

**Also, a quick poll. I was planning on writing a Dramione or Harmony story, most likely on a Dramione marriage. Any thoughts? Percabeth is the only canon pairing I support.**

**~TJ**


	14. The Murderous Antagonist

**I thought I would update more with the advent of summer, but clearly I wasn't aware of the camps and travel plans. And this story has lost some steam. I'll finish it, but unless reader response is decent, updates will be pretty slow.**

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As Percy woke up the next morning, he felt an overwhelming sense of discomfort at the thought of the day's events. Remembering his conversation with Major Castellan the previous day, he shuddered. The meeting with his boss better go well today, otherwise, they were done for.

He secured the laces on his military boots, stomping them against the dusty floor for good measure. Percy took a glance at his bunk, internally debating whether or not he really wanted to meet Nico again today. Obviously the answer was no, but there was no evading the meeting. It was bound to happen. After all, he had suggested it himself.

Percy grabbed himself a blueberry muffin on the way down to the training facility. He had yet to finish aviation training but was not quite sure whether he wanted to suffer through another lecture with Dr. Thorn. But, as long it didn't actually having to fly an airplane, he was safe, for now.

Deciding not to piss of Dr. Thorn again, Percy arrived in the aviation base with plenty of time to spare. The man with the anomalous eyes glared at him wordlessly, his eyes twitching once, when he took his respective seat on the hard, wooden bench of the building.

For some reason, the room reminded Percy of a sauna in its layout and heat. By the time the other recruits had filtered in, Percy had begun using her handkerchief to dab away at the beads of sweat dotting his face.

Dr. Thorn cleared his throat, droning on once more where he had left off the previous day. "The aerodynamics of the flight's wings is based on the principle of lift as I explained yesterday. The physics of it is too complicated for most of you to understand," he smirked.

"Try us," a voice came from the frame of the door. The recruits turned in surprise to see their commanding officer at their training session specifically. Major Castellan was leaning against the door, his long, imposing body casting a shadow on the ground.

"Major Castellan," Dr. Thorn cleared his throat gruffly, "We weren't expecting your company."

"I wasn't planning on it, but being in the vicinity, I thought I would stop by," but as Luke said his statement, Percy had a feeling it was directed straight at him. Luke's head was tilted slightly in his direction as he spoke. The message was hidden but clearly understood: Luke was keeping tabs on him.

"I see."

"Don't mind me. It's been a while since I've been through aerodynamics. A refresher course could help," he grinned as he slid onto the end of the bench, four people down from Percy.

Dr. Thorn resumed his theory on the force behind lift, "As I was saying the plane's wings are designed based on the purpose, each differing as a result of altitude…" The rest of his lecture took a back seat as Percy became more and more conscious of Luke's eyes trained on him.

Five minutes before the presentation was due to end, Major Castellan picked up his swagger stick and officer cap before tipping it once and leaving without a word. Periodically throughout the day, Percy saw him everywhere almost as if he was an illusion.

Maybe Percy was being paranoid and delusional, but he seriously doubted it. Major Luke Castellan was not a fool to be toyed with. When he had a hunch or suspicion, he followed through. Lunch was especially evident as Luke took the seat across from Percy.

The conversation turned to small talk regarding current affairs and other marine news. But more than anything, to the innocent bystander, Luke looked like an overfriendly commanding officer with great relations with his marines.

"So Percy, what do you think about the Marines so far?"

"It's been good. It's nice to be able to get back to shape."

"Not meaning to cause controversy here, but should I dare ask you? Which do you prefer: marines or navy?"

"It's a little too early to say." The conversation continued as such, a useless banter between the two. It was a volley of innocent questions from Luke as Percy rejoined impassively. Almost as abruptly as they had started, the questions stopped when Luke had finished his teriyaki lunch. He got up before the rest to put away his tray, "See you later, gang."

Percy's afternoon classes regarding the importance of the various type of artillery and close range weaponry. Before using any of the machine guns, pistols, or test missiles, training, as was always, was to be fully taught before the weapons could even be seen.

At approximately five, right after wrestling training, Percy found himself once more at Mrs. Arnolds's office to ask for the car keys. The old woman gave him a once over before reminding him to come back before curfew. Percy prayed to the nonexistent God that he didn't cross Luke's path on his way to the garage.

Of course, the nonexistent God didn't answer his prayers. He crept along stealthily alongside the garage sidings when he heard a low, furious voice arguing over the phone:

"No! I told you to see to it immediately. You promised me that you would look," Luke's angry, petulant voice carried over to where Percy was standing. "Look man, I don't give a f***. Get it done before you regret it."

Percy held his breath, pressing himself closer to the wall as he heard the echo of Luke's footsteps fade away. When he was certain they had passed in the opposite direction, he made a run for the car quickly, turning on the ignition almost immediately. The drive to the hospital was quicker than it had been yesterday as surprisingly, the rush hour traffic seemed to have died down.

He hadn't been lying when he had said that he had a few more forms to fill out and fill out those forms he did. Adding his signature to the last of the officially documented sheets, he made his way up to the top where Annabeth's room was located.

Her cold features remained from when he had last seen her yesterday. It was as though time had frozen for the Captain, her face not having moved in the slightest. Even the curls in her hair were exactly as he had remembered them. The only sign of life was the slight movement in her hair as the wind from the open window swept past her.

The peace in her world remained undisturbed, unaware of the malicious events unfolding around her. It remained intact as she remained motionless and lifeless. What was the word Percy was looking for? Sleeping Beauty.

He didn't want Annabeth's death to be in account of him, so he hoped her recovery was speedy. But, at the same time, he wanted to finish his job as soon as possible. The sooner the better.

Time passed quickly as he sat their reflecting about his current situation, once more trying to fathom how he had ended up in the position. The analog watch on his wrist ticked once, signaling that it was 6:30 PM, time to meet Nico.

He hurried down to the Starbucks once more where he found the man in a trench coat and fedora once more.

"You were almost late," Nico began monotonously.

"But I wasn't, di Angelo," Percy retorted just as quickly.

Nico ignored Percy's irritated tone as he continued, "He only promised you five minutes. Be quick."

Percy looked on with silent disbelief. Five minutes? What was he supposed to talk about in five minutes? It was practically useless for all intents and purposes. "What the hell am I supposed to do with it?"

"Do with it what you may," the other replied simply, shrugging his shoulders.

Before Percy could retort, the phone rang, the sharp shrill ring a contrast to the background coffeehouse music. To Percy, there was pin drop silence, nothing mattering but the ring of the incessant phone.

He held out his hand hesitantly for the phone, his voice trembling as he spoke into it, "Hello?"

"Hello Percy Jackson," a grating voice replied. "I have been eager to speak with you."

"About that…"

"Quit wasting time boy. If I hear a single protest from you, you're done for. I told Nico five minutes, but I can sum up your job in one sentence."

"That being?" Percy tugged on his collar as he spoke, the room temperature rapidly increasing.

The man on the other side of the phone let out a bone-grinding laugh. The mere sound of his laugh sounded like shrap metal against a chalkboard, "You have the nerve to speak back? Well, good for you. Listen carefully. I don't tolerate failures. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Yes, boss," the voice mimicked.

"Yes boss," Percy repeated.

"Here's the plan Jackson. Reinforcements are unnecessary. I have heard of your talents, and frankly, I'm not willing to send in more people. The more there are, the more connections that can be led back to me."

"Yes sir."

"Jackson, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Excellent. I want you to kill him, boy. Kill."

Percy's eyes closed once when he heard the words, reopening almost instantaneously. It was just as he had anticipated and had been planning for all along.

"Jackson?" the haggard voice asked.

"Of course sir. Consider it done. He will be killed."

"Good boy. Luke Castellan shall be murdered mercilessly," Kronos chuckled darkly at the thought of the revenge he would finally inflict upon the young man who had once ruined his life.

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**I hope that clears some things up. Anyway, make sure to read, review, fave, follow. I'll do my best to update but it all depends. The inspiration for this story is slightly declining, but your reviews do inspire. **

**Those who review will get a shoutout in the next chapter, so review below in the box.**

**~TJ **


	15. A Trip Down Memory Lane

**As promised, shout-outs to those who reviewed: Nicole |x|, THE GUEST, jj, duck, ChaserMoonstone, xXWise Girl xXx Wanna BeXx, ElmoDaHorse, SwimmyTheNerd, StormyMystery, drakon91, FlorenceBradbury, pokes, SingingFroggy, FindingAdventures, Head Over Heels standing, and Velocity Drew Warren.**

**Keep in mind the story is an AU, and there are differences in characters. Clarification: Percy's about 27 while Annabeth is 26.**

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"_Kill."_

The single phrase resonated in Percy's head as he drove back. As he thrummed his fingers against the wheel he groaned in slight frustration at the traffic going back to base. Not only were there too many vehicles on the road, the weather did nothing to improve the mood. The cloudy dreary day had led to a downpour of rain that streamed down his windshield.

Other than the rather bleak weather and the fact he was slowly losing his mind and patience in the traffic, Percy was perfectly content. Just as he had hoped, Kronos had ordered him to kill Luke. Even if he hadn't said so, Percy would have done it. But having Kronos' approval only furthered his motivation. He now had a time constraint, two months until it was all over, the years of haunted thoughts. The guy had it coming to him after what he had done to Rachel, his Rachel.

Thoughts of Rachel plummeted Percy's mood almost immediately. Images of the girl's long curly red hair flashed through Percy's mind. He was reminded of their first prom together as a couple sophomore year of high school at Goode High.

She had been older than him by a year. Yes, she was a junior when he was a sophomore. It was a little embarrassing admittedly when she had to drive to his house to pick him up for prom. Percy remembered the incident like it was yesterday. The day had been just as pouring as the rain spared no one with its incessant barrage:

_Sophomore Percy Jackson stood behind the window of his house as his mother, Sally Blofis, fussed over his bowtie, adjusting it several times over. The lady attempted to brush her son's hair. With every stroke of the brush, a new strand of hair stuck up. Finally, in exasperation, she had used hair spray to calm the torrent of black ebony hair._

_She insisted on taking pictures of her son at every angle as her husband looked on at his stepson sympathetically. Percy tried to behave just for his mother. If someone asked who he loved more than himself, he would have immediately replied: mom._

"_Percy, my little baby's grown," she had to restrain herself from squealing as she hugged her son. Percy tugged his bowtie uncomfortably as he let his mother hug him._

_He heard the screeching halt of tires against his driveway. Percy looked out to see a red Porsche pull up onto his driveway as the driver aggressively fishtailed it. A tall, lanky red-head walked out, almost proudly. Her pumps screamed death, yet she managed to hold herself regally as she came to ring the door. _

_Percy slowed himself down when he went to answer it, realizing he was a bit nervous. He opened the door to find the girl staring right back at him. He was speechless at the sight of her in the green body-fitting backless dress. He tried not to ogle as he said, 'hey", weakly._

_Rachel gave him a little chuckle, "You clean up nicely, Jackson. Not half bad."_

_He gulped as his cheeks turned a deep red color. Sally, not noticing her son's discomfort, ushered the pair inside, insisting they take more couple pictures. Percy found himself in an even more awkward position as he noted Rachel was a good six inches taller than him in heels. Even without them, she was two inches taller, but now, he looked just like a dwarf in comparison. _

_In one picture, she had to lean down to wrap her arms around him until they were cheek to cheek. The next one was one of her planting a kiss on his cheek. As the pictures progressed, Percy had looked redder than the previous one._

_After what seemed to be an hour of pictures, Sally was finally ready to let her son go, "Percy, be good."_

"_Mom!" he protested, blushing a deep red. _

"_It's all right, Mrs. Blofis. I'll take good care of him," Rachel replied, winking once at his mom. She wrapped her arm around his neck as she led them out. "You're lucky right now, Jackson. I am so tempted to ruffle your hair, but considering it's actually tamed for once, I'll try to savor it."_

_The night that followed was almost dream-like for Percy. He barely remembered dancing; only almost floating in happiness. Except for that one moment where he accidentally stepped on Rachel's foot._

_**Fast-forward to three years later**__… _

_Percy was now in the navy, following Rachel's footsteps when she had enlisted the year before. The Naval Academy grounds were stunning colonial style buildings redecorated to suit the modern day. (__**A/N: I stayed at their dorms last summer. Most gorgeous campus ever.)**__ The color scheme of the light green/teal was very soothing to look at._

_They hadn't broken up when she had graduated a year before him and still managed to keep their relationship intact. They would Skype every month as the Internet connection on campus was pretty decent. _

_When they had both graduated from the Academy, they had immediately gone into service. Those who had trained at the Academy had been prepared to be officers of their platoons. The first year of service had gone well (Rachel's second) as they were allowed on field mission after field mission. As the summer approached, they found themselves relaxing a bit more._

_That's when Percy had popped the question: Would she marry him? The answer had been yes. The two had been a happily engaged couple for the year… A year until…Rachel was killed._

Percy found himself at the entrance of the base by the time he got to Rachel's death. By this point, he was done crying over the mention of it. Now, he was on a path of revenge. He lumbered back into the barracks, climbing into his bed before the sleep took him over.

_**Two weeks later—**_

Percy found himself dozing off in another one of Dr. Thorn's lectures. They had done some flight simulations, but that had been as far as they had gotten. Percy was thankful for that. He was in no way ready for lifting off ground. Dr. Thorn had hinted at possibilities for off-ground training for the following week, but he would need some way to get out of it.

He tried to keep himself awake by pinching himself every thirty seconds, but even then, he could feel his eyes failing him.

"Private Jackson!" the loud voice barked. But before he could continue, another voice interrupted, repeating the same thing. Mrs. Arnolds stood at the entrance of the room, her short frame trembling. She motioned for him quickly.

Percy waked out to find the woman very close to tears, her body shaking even more pronouncedly.

"Mrs. Arnolds? What's wrong?"

"Captain Chase," she choked out.

"What?! What about her?"

"She's gone. She's no longer at the hospital."

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**Read, fave, follow…**

**Review in the box below. Those who though, I'll think of something. I'll update after Wednesday since I'll be out of town.**

**~TJ**


	16. And So It Began

**I somewhat have writer's block with this story, so I'm doing my best to speed it up and get it done with as soon as possible. Anyway, it'd be great to hit 300 reviews and possible 100 faves before that.**

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_**Previously—**_

_"Mrs. Arnolds? What's wrong?"_

_"Captain Chase," she choked out._

_"What?! What about her?"_

_"She's gone. She's no longer at the hospital."_

"What do you mean?" Percy's heart threatened to stop as soon as the words left the old lady's mouth.

"She's nowhere to be found!" Mrs. Arnolds was at the verge of tears at this point, inconsolable.

"Wait, wait. Calm down. Start from the beginning, and tell me everything slowly," Percy spoke to her as though he was speaking to a child.

Mrs. Arnolds gave him the stink-eye but decided to comply with his demand, "I got a call from the hospital earlier this morning saying that she had woken up."

"What?!" Percy yelped. "And you didn't tell me?"

"I couldn't find you and frankly, didn't bother looking. Anyway, continuing from before you interrupted me, they said they wanted a day or two before discharging her to make sure all her blood sugar levels and brain activity were within a normal range."

Percy nodded in understanding as Mrs. Arnolds went on, "About an hour ago, I got another call from them asking if someone had come by to pick her up without the release forms. At first, I thought perhaps it had been you, but I then realized you had no way of knowing that she had woken up. In conclusion, she's missing."

"Did you go check the hospital?"

"Does it look like I can drive?"

"No, but…"

"Go find her."

"How do you expect me to do that?"

"Maybe it was just a misunderstanding with the hospital. I don't know, young man. You created this mess, now go fix it. We need Captain Chase back!" Mrs. Arnolds was beyond help at this point. She had surpassed hysteria into a state of pure shock and terror.

"Alright, alright. I'll go check out the situation."

Percy found himself climbing back into the accursed Hummer once more, revving up the engine. He had a nagging suspicion as to who was behind this but no definite proof to verify his theory. The ride to the hospital was shorter than usual.

Perhaps it had something to do with the weather. Like that day two weeks when he had last seen Annabeth and di Angelo, the clouds produced a greenish gray hue, threatening to storm any moment. The speed of the gust of wind had already double in the past half hour to such high speeds that even Percy could feel the vibrations of the Hummer as it rocked back and forth on the road.

As soon as he had reached, the hospital staff immediately ushered him up to the room, closing the door behind him quickly. Odd. Alright then, where to start? It didn't take him long to figure out what was going on and was surprised to notice that the staff were slow to pick up on it.

In plain sight, near the window, rested a black fedora that could only belong to one person: Nico. He flipped over the hat on hunch and found a slip of paper tuck away neatly into one of hat's deep folds.

_Good boy, Perce. I knew it wouldn't take you too long to figure it out. Now, you know where to find us. Remember the old warehouse?_

Percy had a fist against the glass pane as he read the message, his hand scraping along it the angrier he got. What the hell was di Angelo playing at? Was he trying to help or only make things worse? Whatever be the case, he had Annabeth once again in his grasp. The girl was becoming a serious liability.

He glanced at his watch. It was only three, but the drive to the aforementioned warehouse was well over an hour long. Great, just one more hour in the car and the horrendous storm threatening to erupt.

To make things worse, the only station working on the radio was some mix of hippie country music which personally wanted to make Percy rip the radio out of the car. He managed to restrain himself as he drove through traffic-less roads.

He pulled up in front of the warehouse, noting that one of the few doors was opened. As far as the eye could see, no one was in the nearby vicinity for possible disturbances. Percy approached the building apprehensively, wary of the fact that Nico may be armed and could have possibly harmed Annabeth.

Percy knocked once, and not to his surprise, no one answered. Taking this as an invitation to enter, he did so.

With the back faced towards him, a figure sat seated on a large, black leather chair. Had it not been a matter of life and death, Percy found have found the situation comical. Almost as though di Angelo was the don of the Italian mafia.

"I've been waiting, Jackson," di Angelo began, his chair spinning to face him. Oh, he had a spinny chair too? Classic. The man was using a short dagger to clean off his fingernails.

"Where is she?"

"Getting straight to the point, are we? All in good time. All in good time."

"Why'd you take her?"

"She woke up," he replied simply.

"So?"

"She would have been a threat."

"What'd you do to her?"

"Drugged her again. Smaller dosage."

"How long are you going to keep this up?"

"Until you finish your task."

"This is illegal."

"The entire operation is illegal. Keep in mind Jackson that if we go down, you do too. You are just as involved and responsible. Especially in the case of manslaughter. Don't expect the Feds to let you go easily. And it wasn't as though you were brainwashed. You have malicious intent pointing back to incriminate you."

Percy knew that Nico was trying to get under his skin but wasn't going to allow that to bother him. "Where is she?" he asked once more.

Nico shook his head in a direction as Percy followed his glance. How could he have not noticed before? Annabeth was hunched over in the corner, barely moving.

"Is she awake yet?"

"She will be in another half hour or so. We knocked her out as soon as the hospital declared her awake. Captain Chase has no idea where she is."

"Let me take her back."

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Jackson, I'm trying to help you here by making your job easier. I got the girl out of the way, and we'll keep her here till you're done with the task."

"This makes it harder; you do realize that, don't you? They're already suspicious that I knocked out their Captain…and possibly could have killed her, the trust factor is going to disappear immediately."

"What do you suggest we do about?"

"Give her to me. I'll deal with it."

"Fine," Nico motioned to his two guards to bring her back. As they brought her back, Percy fought a wave of nausea at the sight of her dirtied hair, filled with a stench of sweat and alcohol. They had used chloroform to gag her mouth, her hands and legs tied as well. Using the knife he had been using to clean his nails, Nico cut the ropes binding Annabeth easily, "Take her."

Percy easily managed to throw Annabeth onto his shoulder, making his way to the car. She stirred a little as he managed to buckle her in, trying to prevent her head from hitting the dashboard.

Another quarter hour passed by quickly as he drove. Percy noticed Annabeth's lolling a little as she was still unconscious. But soon, this began to fade as symptoms of her regaining consciousness appeared.

First her gray eyes flickered open. That had been a sight to see. It had almost been three weeks since Percy had seen those stern, steely colored eyes that it astonished him. In a way, he had missed them. They still looked a little lifeless after the ordeal she had been through.

She winced, massaging her wrists gently. Only when she had done so did she take in her surroundings, her mouth forming an 'O' shape when she saw who's company she was in, "Private Jackson?!"

He let out a weak grimace, "Nice to have you back Captain."

"Where are we?"

"You were discharged from the hospital…" he lied. Of course he would have to go back later to sign the consent and release forms, but for now.

"But I thought…"

"They changed their mind."

"Oh," she remained quiet for a minute longer before speaking up again, her voice still a bit bleary from being drugged. "But…but…how did you get here?"

"Mrs. Arnolds sent me."

"Let's no go back to base!" she said suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

The color in her eyes had changed, suddenly more ferocious, rebellious in a sense, "Let's go somewhere else. Away from it all."

At this point, Percy Jackson freely admitted that he was scared to see this feral side to his Captain, "Captain, you still haven't recovered. We should go back."

"No Jackson. You will do as you're told. That's an order," just as unexpectedly, one of her hands grabbed the steering wheel, the other his uniform. She pulled him close until they were within inches of one another.

What happened next was something that not even Fate could have predicted. She kissed him full on the lips, and what surprised him most was that he responded back without a hint of protest.

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**I know this chapter sucked, but honestly the inspiration for this story is plummeting. Hopefully the addition of Percabeth will raise that somehow.**

**In the meanwhile, I hope you guys aren't disheartened and continue to review. I intend to finish the story, but that won't be possible without your ongoing support. Reviews/faves/follows really do encourage writers. **

**In other news, I began another story to clear my mind while I have writer's block for this one. Yes, this one is based off a Korean drama, but it's pretty decent. Here's the summary:**

**Title: My Gay Best Friend.**

**Annabeth is dealing with a betrayal of her boyfriend and best friend. To add to the problem, she's broke. Percy is a young businessman trying to make his way to the top. By accident, he meets Annabeth, learning that connections with her family could secure his position in the business world. When Annabeth rents out her house, Percy takes her up on the offer, posing as a gay man to win her trust. What happens when he accidentally ends up falling for her instead? AU/AH… Characters will be OoC.**

**Have any questions, leave a comment or message in the box below, and I'll get back to you.**

**To those who review this story and my new one, special shout-outs to you.**

**~TJ**


	17. A Day in Charleston

**Thank you to those who reviewed, faved, and/or followed. We're almost at a 100 faves, and hopefully we can reach the 300 review mark too. Without further ado, chapter 17.**

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She kissed him for what seemed like an eternity at first, but Percy felt himself pulling away. He saw some confusion in her eyes as she looked back.

Lucky for them that they had been on a straight road with no other cars present, and with Percy's adept skills in driving, the car had barely drifted. Percy stayed silent as she turned to face the windshield, also not opening her mouth to justify her actions.

Percy knew this situation had to be hashed out now before there were any misunderstandings. He pulled over swiftly to the shoulder of the road, turning back to face his Captain.

"Captain?" he began hesitantly.

"Why did you stop?" she asked, her tone even, not a hint of what had just happened.

"We need to talk."

"We're doing that right now."

"That's not what I meant."

"Then get on with it. But before you do, why the hell are we in the middle of nowhere?" she looked out at the barren fields surrounding the narrow road, the stark yellow stretching for miles as though they were in the middle of some Kansas farm.

"We're on our way back from the hospital," he replied, gritting his teeth at the lie. Damn di Angelo. He couldn't have drugged her until they had gotten back on the highway? No, he couldn't. That incompetent fool. Now, Percy had to suffer the consequences.

She looked at him skeptically, "I know where Greenville Memorial Hospital is. And this is nowhere near it. So, where are we? And why did you bring me here?"

Now Percy got slightly irritated. Why did he have to answer for Nico's actions? And besides, was she the only one who got to conduct an interrogation? She had some things to answer for herself.

"Then what about you?" he shot back. "Why did you just kiss me?"

Although she started turning red, Percy couldn't tell whether it was in embarrassment or anger, probably the latter, considering what she replied, "Jackson! You will tell me now why we are away from all civilization alone! Don't regret this later, Private."

She was seething, and Percy could see that, but she was yet to answer his question. He decided to let it drop. "Detour?" he shrugged helplessly.

She gave him the stink-eye in response, "Why?"

"Roadwork," he replied curtly, hoping that the lie would suffice and not be discovered later.

Annabeth still looked at him skeptically but decided not to press it any further, "So, what are you waiting for? You can't stop on the side of the road indefinitely." She made an impatient gesture, telling him to continue on.

"About what you said earlier…" Percy trailed off at the questioning glare she was giving him.

"Which thing?"

"About not going back to base. Were you serious?" he continued cautiously.

"What do you think?"

Frankly, Percy had no idea what to think. The honest answer was: no, he didn't she was serious, but that didn't sound very characteristic of her either.

"I honestly don't know. We should probably get back to camp. Mrs. Arnolds was worried about you, and I'm sure the other officers would be glad to see you."

Annabeth sighed, closing her eyes as she spoke, "Look Jackson. I have been out of action for the past three weeks. You honestly think that one more day will make a difference?"

"Why me?" he asked quietly. Annabeth didn't seem to have heard him, her eyes still closed as though she was asleep. For a moment, Percy thought perhaps she actually was asleep. But then, he saw her face, those slender lips trembling once more.

He had to mentally slap himself. Snap out of it Private. This was his Captain after all. He sighed as he spoke louder this time, "Where do you want to go?"

"Somewhere. Anywhere. Anywhere but back to base."

Percy was surprised to hear her voice catch a little, quavering at the end. What was so bad about returning to base today he wondered. He knew complying with her wishes would only delay his plan further, but he had no valid excuse to refuse. He started up the engine once more, deciding to keep quiet.

The next hour was filled with an eerie silence hanging above their heads. Percy, in attempt to make some small talk, would comment blandly on the weather or various things he happened to see outside the window while driving.

Annabeth, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in thought. Every time Percy talked, it was as though she was snapped back to reality. Her responses were vague and unsure and not all that coherent as most of them were one word answers.

Percy wasn't sure if these were side-effects of being drugged by Nico or from recovering from a coma, but either way, he still felt uncomfortable taking a recently comatose patient outside before being officially discharged from the hospital. He didn't bother sharing his concerns with Annabeth, knowing that she'd catch on to the lie immediately about being discharged.

"Percy," she said suddenly. Private Jackson was shocked at the use of his first name. From what he remembered, this was the first time she had addressed him not by his surname.

"Hm?"

"About earlier..." she began.

Could it be possible that she was finally opening up to what she had done? Percy sat there patiently, knowing better than to urge her on, and not accidentally shy her away from the topic.

"Never mind…" she stopped, having noticed that he didn't say anything.

"No, no. Go on. I'm listening in."

"It's fine. Forget I said anything," she said, being her usual stubborn self.

That only made Percy even more curious and somewhat paranoid, "Captain…"

"I said forget it!" she snapped back waspishly.

Percy let out a low whistle. Mood swings much? Either the girl was bipolar or he had no idea what else she could have been. He figured he wouldn't get much of a confession out of her, so he drove on in silence. She too had nothing to say. Fifteen minutes later, the two found themselves entering into Charleston.

"Charleston?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah, have you been here before?"

"I used to come here all the time with…" her voice trailed off when noted the curious look on Percy's face. There was no need for him to know who she had come with. "My friends," she finished lamely. Percy wasn't easily fooled but let the subject drop.

"Well, what did you want to do first? We have more or less the rest of the day. How about lunch?"

Annabeth looked a little uncomfortable, "We're in our uniforms. Change of outfits maybe?"

"Where to?"

"There's an H&M nearby," Annabeth pointed down one of the streets. "It's been a while since I've gone, but it should still be there."

"Do you want to check it out?"

Annabeth led the way having been more familiar with the area than he was. Percy began to pick up snippets of information regarding Annabeth's life. The fact that she had been born in Virginia, moved to California, only to return back in middle school.

These details too were hazy, not very clear, and all too superficial. He didn't have much success learning about the real her, the details that mattered in the long range. Nothing more was said about her family, nor about her schooling. It was as though she was a treasure chest locked up whose key was lost forever in the shadows.

"Jackson!" she called, a few feet ahead, "Hurry up!" The pair received curious stares as they entered the shop in their uniforms. It made Percy rather uncomfortable, but Annabeth paid them no heed, marching straight on ahead to the woman's clothing.

He, on the other hand, had no idea what to do, having never shopped there before. Percy didn't much effort into his outfit choosing, selecting a casual t-shirt with a befitting picture of Popeye on front. To go along with it, he put on a pair of Bermuda shorts.

After paying for his merchandise, he waited near the entrance where a half-dozen girls stood, simply staring at him…and his arms. Percy rubbed them awkwardly, silently pleading with them to look away.

No such chance of course. They continued to stare. He attempted to distract himself by looking at various articles of clothing on the floor, but their eyes never left him. What was taking her so long? How much could _she_ of all people need?

As his eyes wandered around, they fell on a particular girl. For a second, he mistook her for a mannequin with her short blond hair and long, suntanned legs. Her hair was up in a pony, and she was sporting a simple gray dress with a thin belt secure around her waist. A pair of matching gray converse like shoes completed the outfit.

He did a double take, looking at her legs once more. Damn were they sexy. He let out an appreciative grin at the sight.

Percy watched as the girl walked further away from the changing rooms and closer to the front entrance. He craned his head to get a better look. He noticed her head turning, quickly turning his own head so that he wouldn't be caught checking her out. He immediately busied himself with the rack of clothing nearby.

Unfortunately for him, it just so happened to be…Bras. Percy slapped his forehead with his hand when he felt a slender hand tap him on the shoulder. He turned back, jumping in surprise. It was the blond haired girl. He couldn't bring himself to look at her face, his own red in embarrassment. She was going to tell him off wasn't she.

Ah, where was Captain Chase already?

"Jackson," the girl said impatiently.

As the words registered in his head, his face became stuck in a countenance resembling the surprised Patrick meme. His mouth formed a large 'O' as he looked at the shrewd gray eyes staring back at him.

She didn't comment on his expression, her mind worried about something else, "How does it look? Is it casual enough?"

Percy couldn't stop himself as the words tumbled from his mouth, "You…look gorgeous."

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**The next chapter will have some more Percabeth before I return a bit back to the conflict. It will end as a Percabeth story, and I'm anticipating 6-8 more chapters in this story.**

**Anyway, make sure to read, review, fave, follow. As I said, I'm hoping to make it to 300 reviews and 100 faves before the end of the story.** **Now, review for faster updates.**

**~TJ**

**And, if you still haven't done so, make sure to read my other Percabeth story, _My Gay Best Friend. _**

******Summary: Annabeth is dealing with a betrayal of her boyfriend and best friend. To add to the problem, she's broke. Percy is a young businessman trying to make his way to the top. By accident, he meets Annabeth, learning that connections with her family could secure his position in the business world. When Annabeth rents out her house, Percy takes her up on the offer, posing as a gay man to win her trust. What happens when he accidentally ends up falling for her instead? AU/AH… Characters will be OoC.**

******I have three chapters up and a fourth one should be up as soon as this is uploaded. **


	18. It's a Date?

**Thank you to those who reviewed; they have been quite gratifying. Also those who follow and fave, make sure to leave a comment as well.**

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_**Previously—**_

_"Jackson," the girl said impatiently._

_As the words registered in his head, his face became stuck in a countenance resembling the surprised Patrick meme. His mouth formed a large 'O' as he looked at the shrewd gray eyes staring back at him._

_She didn't comment on his expression, her mind worried about something else, "How does it look? Is it casual enough?"_

_Percy couldn't stop himself as the words tumbled from his mouth, "You…look gorgeous."_

He stood there dumbstruck for a second. Did he actually just say that? No way could he have had the nerves to say that. What had come over him? He had no idea whatsoever, but either way, Percy knew he'd be dead meat any second now.

Annabeth's face had turned into a curious scowl, her hands now on her hips. Damn it, she looked so sexy like that. Stop it Percy! No more dirty thoughts about your Captain. It's just not right.

"What did you say?" she sputtered out.

"I— I mean…" he tried his best to save himself but he was in too deep.

"Jackson!" she barked, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently, still awaiting his response.

Percy gulped once in response, "It's…it's nice. It looks good."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Hold on a second while I pay for this."

"Wait!" Percy rushed over to Captain Chase, putting his hand on the wallet she had brought out, "Let me pay for it."

"I am perfectly capable of paying for myself," she replied through gritted teeth.

"No, I'm paying," Percy pushed her aside, asking the register to ring up the purchase. Annabeth stood impatiently with her hands crossed over her chest with a look of infuriation on her face. It was hard to make out, but Percy was certain she was muttering about misogyny or 'sexist pig' under her breath. He had to smile at the comment, but kept his chuckle to himself lest she hear.

The cashier gave him a knowing grin as he asked, "Girl issues?"

"Don't even get me started," Percy muttered while rolling his eyes.

The two went to deposit their uniforms in the Hummer parked in the parking lot before deciding where to go next. More like Annabeth decided where to go next.

"Jackson, I'm hungry. Let's find a place to eat."

"You know this place better than I do. Where do you want to go?"

"Chipotle, Panda Express? Either of those sound good to you?" she asked.

"How about Chipotle?"

"Panda Express it is then," she replied throwing him a teasing smile. Percy caught his breath at the dazzling smile she had given him. Was he hallucinating? Snap out of it Percy. He pinched himself in the arm, making sure it wasn't some sort of dream.

"Hey!" he cried out, but still followed her. They entered the fast food complex, waiting in the long queue that had formed and the line going far beyond the door of the entrance. Annabeth didn't have much say, so Percy took this time to get a better look at his 'new' Captain.

He had to admit she looked good, like really good. Her short curly blond hair was flying in the soft breeze that seemed to be in the air. Percy watched as the curls bounced, tempted to touch one.

But he felt that would have been too creepy and restrained himself. He wondered what had gotten into her, what had gotten into him. It wasn't as though he hadn't seen in her normal clothes before. Maybe it was the relief of seeing her awake and well after the coma.

No, he wasn't supposed to be happy with this. The reason for Annabeth's coma was to facilitate his revenge after all. Annabeth noticed his blank stare, her mouth turning down a little, "What are you doing?"

Percy blinked, focusing somewhere else, "Nothing, just thinking."

The line moved slowly, but eventually, the pair had finally found a seat in the corner of the rather busy restaurant. It would have been a nice little alcove had it not been for the other dozens of people also squished in nearby in too close of quarters for comfort.

He downed his bowl of Beijing beef along with a side of fried rice and eggrolls almost within seconds of sitting down. Annabeth, on the other hand, took her time eating, glancing at a newspaper article that someone had left behind while eating.

"So, ah…" Percy cleared his throat, realizing this was going to become awkward real soon if someone didn't start speaking. It would also distract him from staring at her without a reason. "What're you reading?"

Annabeth flipped to the next page in the newspaper, "Hm? Nothing. Just catching up on what I've missed out on these past few weeks while I was out." She gave Percy a pointed glare, reminding that in her eyes, he was still the reason for her coma. She had no idea about Nico's treachery, and that's how it was going to stay.

"I… I really am sorry about that. I wasn't thinking and let the anger get the better of me," he apologized sincerely.

"I'd say," Annabeth didn't appear mad. In fact, she seemed to be teasing him more than anything. Percy was confused. What the hell was going on?

By the time Annabeth had finished her meal, the remainder of the restaurant had disappeared, leaving them to be the last ones to finish.

"Slow eater, huh?" he joked.

"You try not eating for three weeks and then going to a fast food restaurant," she punched him playfully in the shoulder.

Percy pretended to wince in pain, "Where to next, Captain?"

"Do you ever make up your own mind? And stop calling me Captain here. People are going to give us odd looks."

Percy smirked, "I didn't know you were one to care about what others thought, Captain Chase."

"What did I just tell you?!" she almost hissed in retort.

"You want me to call you Annabeth?" he asked hesitantly, stuttering on her name.

"While we're here, yes, Jackson."

"I might get too comfortable with calling you that. Who knows, I might slip when we return to base. Besides, if I have to call you by your first name, what about me?"

"What about you?"

"You almost never call me Percy."

"Well, yeah, it's awkward."

Percy stopped in his tracks. Did Annabeth Chase just say 'awkward'? What was the world coming to? "Why is it awkward?" he asked, turning to face her.

She, too stopped, the sidewalk now separating the too, "I'm your Captain. I've always addressed my subordinates as Private or by their last name."

"Then what about for me? It's just as weird to call my Captain by her first name?"

Annabeth sighed, her arms crossed once more as she looked up at him, "You know, you might have a point there."

"What was that?" he asked playfully. "Did you just concede to me being right?"

"Don't push it, Jack—Percy…" she stumbled over the name but continued to march on as though nothing had happened.

"You still haven't answered my question," he pointed out.

"Which one? You've been going on about it all day, and frankly, you've asked so many that I've lost track."

"Where are we going next?"

"Do you need a destination in mind when you walk? Is it too much to ask just to walk around for a bit in this weather? The sun's out, and it feels good on my skin after being cooped in those white walled cells for three damned weeks."

"You don't say," he mused. "How about ice cream after a while? You might not have been outside for the past three weeks, but I've had enough with Mother Nature, and the sun is starting to get under my skin. Can't deal with the heat."

"Alright," she conceded. "Deal?"

"Deal."

The two began wandering aimlessly along the streets of Charleston, neither saying much. But when one had something to say, the other too was about to comment at the same time.

"So, what do you…"

"The weather's nice…"

Those normally resulted in a good, long silence after that. Percy made some weak comments about the plants on the ground while Annabeth completely ignored him, understandably.

"Capt—Annabeth," Percy began, "Can we please sit down somewhere in the shade? It's so freaking hot outside." He gestured towards a bench that he had found alongside the sidewalk, under the cool shade of an oak tree.

"We agreed on stopping only for ice cream."

"I'm getting a bit tired from the sun," he admitted, scratching his forearm in embarrassment.

Annabeth snorted, "And you call yourself a Marine. Fine, let's sit down."

The two sat themselves down on the bench that Percy had found, basking the coolness of the shade. Annabeth absentmindedly kicked at a pebble by her foot when Percy spoke up, "So, I take it that you used to come here often?"

"Almost every other weekend," she replied, "My house was on the border of Virginia and South Carolina. The ride took about 4 hours, but I'd come. Sometimes with my family, sometimes with my friends."

"Why not anymore?"

"Because, Percy," she rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of the question, "One doesn't simply get to choose when they want to go somewhere when serving in the Marines. Besides, my friends, we're not as close as we used to be."

Percy heard a catch in her voice as she spoke, like she was holding back something, "You alright? Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Ok then…" the two sat, simply staring out into the parking lot in front of them when Annabeth spoke up again, "My two best friends, Thalia and Luke, they…"

"Wait, Luke as in Major Castellan Luke or another Luke?"

"Yes, as in Major Castellan."

"You've known him since high school?"

"Middle school actually."

"He's older, isn't he?" Percy asked dubiously. "Did you join the Marines…" his voice trailed off under Annabeth's grimace.

"You're suggesting I joined because of him, right? Well, yes and no. I've always wanted to be in the military. But Thalia was my best friend and like a sister to me. She was also Luke's girlfriend," Annabeth swallowed once before continuing as though she was holding back tears. "Thalia was killed by a drunk driver a month before Luke's graduation. He loved her, a lot. It affected us both; it took a toll on both of us. But Luke was like my brother, and I his sister. We comforted one another every time Thalia was mentioned. But, to this day, I know it affected Luke a lot worse than it affected me."

"Hey, I'm sorry I asked," Percy put his arm her shoulder comfortingly. Annabeth flinched at the presence of the arm but let it relax. She had her face in her hands so that he couldn't see her broken expression.

"Thalia was the older sister I never had, and sometimes, like this, it comes back rushing, remembering the times with her."

Percy desperately wanted to find a way to change the subject. This touchy, sentimental, emotional Annabeth was not someone he could deal with it.

He patted her on the back with a sense of discomfort, "It's alright. I know how it feels…to lose someone like that who means a lot to you."

Annabeth sat up sharply, "Your mother you mean?"

"What?!" he asked disconcertedly.

"You said she had been battling with cancer. She didn't…pass away, did she?"

"No! No, she's doing fine," Percy remembered the white lie that had led her to the conclusion. It had been the day that he had first contacted Nico on the phone. Annabeth had misheard the conversation, and Percy had led her to believe it was his sick mother.

"Then?"

"My fiancée, Rachel, was killed in combat," he replied after a long pause. He had said it so quietly that Annabeth wasn't quite sure she had heard correctly.

She drew in a deep breath, "I had no idea. Do you want to talk about it? If not, it's fine. I understand."

"It was in the Middle East a few years ago," Percy paused, deciding how to narrate the story.

Annabeth, on the other hand, wasn't focusing. _The Middle East? It couldn't be. Was this what Percy had mentioned when they had first met, about not remembering. His leg had been injured._

"Excuse me? What was that again?" She asked, having zoned off from Percy's conversation, trying to decipher the pieces of information she had just gathered.

"Never mind," he replied, sighing deeply. "Don't want to ruin the mood by talking about it. Maybe another time."

Annabeth felt her heart squeeze a little. Another time? So, there would be another time? Percy got up, Annabeth following suit immediately.

"Read to go get some ice cream?" he asked, looking at the clock. "It's already 4:30."

"Sure thing."

They fell into step as they began walking towards the Ben & Jerry shop on the other side of the parking lot. The strip mall had become awfully quiet outside, most people preferring to rest inside then deal with the sweltering heat.

Percy told Annabeth to go hold a spot while he went ordered, just in case they ran out of places. Annabeth, luck in her favor, found the perfect seat next to the window. She sat there with one leg over another and her arms crossed as she looked outside, waiting for Percy to come with the ice cream.

Percy, on the other hand, couldn't resist looking at Annabeth, noting the way she sat. His mind went back to the conversation they had had by the bench regarding Luke. He had known that the relationship between the two had been close, but he didn't know just how close.

This was going to be more difficult than he had thought it would be. Maybe Nico had had the right idea in mind. Shaking himself of those thoughts, and deciding to live in the moment, he found himself at the front of the line.

"I'd like a banana split and Strawberry Shortcake Greek Frozen Yogurt," he told the cashier, holding out his credit card to be swiped.

The order was ready within minutes, and he cautiously picked it up, balancing them in one hand while trying to grab napkins and spoons with another. He headed over to the table Annabeth had secured for them.

He handed her the Greek yogurt while he dug into the banana split, savoring every bite.

Annabeth had an amused look on her face as she spoke, "You eat like you've never eaten before."

"Look who's talking. Did you see yourself at Panda Express?" he replied with a mouthful of ice cream. "Why aren't you eating?"

Annabeth had been poking at her frozen yogurt, staring at wistfully instead of eating. "I suddenly felt like I lost my appetite."

"What? Why? This stuff is amazing after that heat we sat out in."

"Don't mind me," she waved her hand. "Just finish your ice cream. We should head back quickly."

Percy looked at her once, bewildered at the sudden change in mood, but he simply shrugged before going back to his dessert. Annabeth took a few tentative bites of her ice cream before stopping, waiting for Percy to finish.

He finished within a few minutes, leaning back in his chair for a moment as he spoke, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

As they walked back to the car, Percy spoke up, "You know Annabeth. You're not half bad. I really did enjoy spending my day with you. Who knows? If we had stayed longer, I might have fallen senseless for you."

Annabeth stopped dead in her tracks, her heart thumping fast. He hadn't just said that, had he? Right before she was going to confess. It was now or never, right?

"Percy," she began doubtfully. "About the kiss earlier…"

Percy turned back to look at her, surprised she was going to actually give him an explanation.

"Truth is, I like you and have done so for quite some time."

* * *

**Longest chapter yet for this story. It cleared 8 pages. Make sure to fave, follow, and review.**

**Especially fave and follow. Like I said, I want to hit 100 faves and 300 reviews before I finish the story. I think there are about 5/6 chapters remaining. So, review.**

**And make sure to read my other current Percabeth story, **_**My Gay Best Friend**_**. I have five chapters up so far. I'm hoping to get another one up tonight. I have to start it once I upload this. If not today, I'll update tomorrow. **

**As for this story, I want to finish it soon, so I'll do my best to update…If y'all review. **

**~TJ**


	19. Bonfire

**Wow, this hit 100 faves and 300 reviews even before I finished the story. And yes, Guest, you are the 300****th**** reviewer.**

* * *

_**Previously—**_

_"Percy," she began doubtfully. "About the kiss earlier…"_

_Percy turned back to look at her, surprised she was going to actually give him an explanation._

_"Truth is, I like you and have done so for quite some time."_

He wasn't sure whether he had heard correctly, but there's no way that Captain Chase of all people had confessed to liking him. It was impossible. The idea was unfathomable. Percy opened his mouth to say something, but was at loss for words for the first time in his life.

To be honest, he hadn't really thought of her like that. She was always just Captain. Sure she was she pretty. Forget pretty, she was downright sexy in a casual outfit, but her personality had always thrown him off. It was true that Annabeth had shown him another side to her today, a more fun-loving one. And if he was being honest, one that seemed more human like than her general officer disposition.

But, there was still Rachel. Percy wasn't dumb. He knew that he had to move on from her eventually and lead his life. He was still in his prime years. Yet, his whole reason for joining the marines was for the revenge, the revenge for what _he_ done to Rachel. It wouldn't be fair to forget about that completely just because of this.

Besides, if he were to say he liked Annabeth too, what did difference would it make? They'd still be in the Marine Corps and relationships were discouraged. Annabeth had merely stated that she had liked him. Nothing more. Maybe it was just a friendly gesture. An overly-friendly gesture nevertheless.

Just what was he to say to her? Hey, I kind of like you, but I'm on a top secret mission to do away with your best friend from high school? That would get shot down almost immediately. So, at the end, after much internal debate, he decided to stay quiet.

Annabeth seemed to have noticed his ongoing dispute, speaking up before things got too awkward, "Look, Percy, I know really shouldn't have burdened you with this, but I thought you should know. I'm not asking for anything. I'm simply letting you know about my own feelings, so don't worry about it." She put on a weak smile to show that it was alright.

Percy winced at the sight, knowing that the next few weeks were going to involve awkward tiptoeing around one another in avoidance. She must have known what he was thinking because she grinned again, this time a bit more teasingly, "Don't have that look on your face. Nothing's changed. I'm still Captain Chase to you, and you're still my subordinate, Private Jackson. Just chill a little."

Percy wasn't sure what was more surprising: that Captain Chase had said 'chill' or that she was smiling. He nodded alright before asking, "Should we head back?"

"Uncomfortable already, Jackson?" She asked mockingly, a look of fake hurt on her face.

He felt a little bad…It was the truth; he was uncomfortable, but he retorted, "You wish. Come on. Mrs. Arnolds is probably wondering why I took so long. You'll never know what she's thinking in that mind of hers."

"Alright, alright. Excuses. Let's go."

Percy protested weakly, but complied. He opened the door for Annabeth when a thought struck him, "Shouldn't we change back into our uniforms?" She gave him a quick nod before the two went to locate the nearest public bathroom.

Within minutes, they were once more back on the road, both of them, yet again, in silence. Annabeth fiddle with the radio buttons, surfing the stations until she stopped at one. It wasn't any music that Percy had recognized, but Annabeth seemed to know, humming along with the tune.

"You know this song?" he asked in surprise.

"Beach music?" she asked. "Yeah, it's really popular in Carolina. It's technically the officially state genre."

"Oh."

The silence fell once more. Annabeth took advantage of this time to reflect on what she had just done, astonished with herself for actually confessing. Why had she done it? Was it a spur of the moment thing?

No, it wasn't. She had liked him from the start. That wasn't a lie. Maybe it was too soon to tell him. After all, she had just been in a coma for the last three weeks, and she had only known him for a little over a month before that. There was no denying the fact that she had been attracted to him from the moment she had seen it. Back then, it had been pure curiosity.

The man had presented her with an enigma. And for the first time in her life, she was unable to figure out what he was harboring. This attraction only augmented when she found him in unexpected places at unexpected times. The fact that he had a cellphone, the fact that he had declined an officer position in the navy, and he had been the one to check on her at the hospital nearly every day. Just none of it made sense. Who was this guy and why was he so important?

There wasn't much traffic on the return route. As Percy pulled into the garage, Annabeth noticed he took a curious look at Luke's black Audi before unlocking the doors. He stopped in front of her door with his hands in his pocket, looking slightly guilty.

"Umm…"

"Why don't you go back to your training? I'll go inform Luke about being back. See you later."

"Right, bye," he grinned, giving her a wave of the hand as she left the garage. Percy remained standing there, realizing this was the opportune moment to take a peek at the man's car.

_**Captain Chase—**_

The first thing Annabeth did was to go see Luke and inform him of her return. To her surprise, he had pulled her in for a tight hug, as though checking it were really her. He pulled back a little as if to examine her, "You alright?'

Annabeth merely rolled her eyes at his concern, "I'm fine Luke. As you can see, I have been discharged."

"Good, I was starting to get slightly anxious. If you hadn't gotten better by the end of the month, I probably would have kicked Jackson out for doing this to you."

"Just a little bit overprotective, are we?" she chuckled at the determination on his face. He scowled in reply, "Hey, I can worry alright. You're like my little sister."

"If you say so Major Castellan."

"Listen, I think we should celebrate your return. Plus, I have some announcements to make from the superiors."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, "From the superiors, like what?"

Luke simply grinned, "You'll just have to wait and see. Can't let the surprised be ruined. Anyway, why don't you go get freshened up a bit?" He checked his watch briefly before continuing, "It's about 5:30 now. The bonfire should start at 8 after dinner. See you there."

He left without disclosing another word on the announcement. Annabeth clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, "Bonfire, huh? It must be something special."

After exchanging her current outfit for a cleaner one, Annabeth sat down in her chair for a while, suddenly taken by a bout of vertigo. Her head began to spin at an alarming rate; she lowered her head in between her legs to stop the flow of blood. Slowly, little by little, it stopped.

Was it a result of the heat? She had just spent the whole day in the sun after all. That had to be it. Considering she was yet to recover fully from the coma. Annabeth decided her best option was to lie down for a bit in her bunk before going to dinner. She kicked her boots off, resting her head on her arms as she stared up at the ceiling above.

Her thoughts slowly wandered to Percy, wondering what had been so curious about Luke's car. Maybe it was just a normal man's fascination with cars. Especially that Audi. Yet, it still struck her as peculiar. Maybe she should go check on him.

He had missed considerable amounts of training over the past few weeks thanks to her. But Annabeth decided against, thinking how stalker-like it sounded. Annabeth waited patiently by her computer, going through the emails she had yet to catch up on.

Soon enough, dinner rolled on by. It was a feast compared to what she had had in the hospital; which was to say, nothing. She loaded her plate with mashed potatoes, steak, and gravy, avoiding the green beans entirely.

Annabeth took her regular place in the dining hall as Luke slid into the seat across from her with a knowing look on his face.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"You don't even know…" she muttered, taking a large gulp from her glass of lemonade.

"Mrs. Arnolds wasn't being all clear, but she said you had been discharged this morning. I wasn't too sure since she sounded a little too optimistic when she had said it, but what took you so long?"

"Hmm? Oh, the paperwork…" she mumbled.

He looked at her skeptically, "Paperwork?"

"We went out for lunch before heading back. Charleston is about an hour away in traffic, and I was starving. Plus, the storm had to clear up."

"What'd you do then?" he asked curiously.

Annabeth wasn't just about to tell Luke how she had spent her afternoon. Besides, he knew she had been with Percy.

"Oh…It was nothing!" she snapped.

Luke recoiled in surprise from her tone, "I…"

"Forget it Luke. Just tell me what you're going to say tonight at the bonfire."

"I said you'll have to wait," Luke's tone had gotten visibly darker from a moment ago. He hadn't expected such strong emotion from Annabeth, but he knew better than to push her. The topic must have been sensitive, but he didn't ponder on it any further. He waited for her to finish before the two headed out to the campfire site. Luke knew well enough to maintain distance from her at times like this.

Many of the privates were already out, getting the blazing fire going. He noticed Percy in the shadows, standing behind the other marines as though he didn't want to join the festivities. The light from the fire cast an eerie shade on his face, giving him the look of Satan for a second. Percy looked straight him, their eyes locking. Luke blinked, but it was gone before he could make sure.

Some of the marines had taken up to singing the marine hymn, one of the oldest military songs in the country:

_From the Halls of Montezuma,_

_To the shores of Tripoli;_

_We fight our country's battles_

_In the air, on land, and sea;_

_First to fight for right and freedom_

_And to keep our honor clean:_

_We are proud to claim the title_

_Of United States Marine._

_Our flag's unfurled to every breeze_

_From dawn to setting sun;_

_We have fought in every clime and place_

_Where we could take a gun;_

_In the snow of far-off Northern lands_

_And in sunny tropic scenes;_

_You will find us always on the job_

_The United States Marines._

_Here's health to you and to our Corps_

_Which we are proud to serve;_

_In many a strife we've fought for life_

_And never lost our nerve;_

_If the Army and the Navy_

_Ever look on Heaven's scenes;_

_They will find the streets are guarded_

_By United States Marines._

As the song died down, Luke stood up and cleared his throat, getting ready to make the announcement. He kept his eyes trained on Annabeth as he spoke.

"I would like to start off by welcoming Captain Chase back after her reprieve." Annabeth turned slightly red at the mention of being hospitalized. "It's good to have you back. I'm sure many of the guys here have missed you and have gone to seed since."

He gestured for Annabeth to stand up. She waved slightly before sitting back down with her arms around her knees.

"Second, our Commander has brought to my attention that the annual Marine Corps Birthday ball is just around the corner."

He was interrupted by hushed whispers as the men began talking about the prospect excitedly.

"Yes, that does mean you can bring dates from outside," Luke continued, his eyes still fixated on Annabeth. But she was staring somewhere else into distance. She was looking at someone, but Luke wasn't able to pinpoint who.

"The deadlines for the RSVP is in about two weeks. So mark your calendars. The ball takes place in a month on November 10th. That's all I have to say, so continue with the bonfire."

Luke got up, ready to approach Annabeth, but she had moved. She was standing in front of none other than Percy Jackson. He couldn't hear what the blond haired woman was saying to Private Jackson as her back was turned to him, but he noticed Jackson's face smirk a little.

Percy had been surprised when Annabeth immediately got up after Luke's little speech. She approached him cautiously, her hands wrung together.

"Percy, I was wondering…" she paused, looking very uncomfortable. "Would you go to the dance with me?"

He noticed a pair of blue eyes staring at him from a distance away. The Major's eyes had been trained on Annabeth's back the entirety of the conversation, trying to decipher what was going on.

This could be Percy's opportunity to get it over with Luke. The ball, but now, Annabeth was in the way once more. The more he saw the look in Luke's eyes get cloudier, the more determined he became.

He said clearly and loudly enough for Luke to hear, "Of course, I'd be honored to accompany you to the dance."

That did it. Luke's face turned a fuchsia color and his hands clenched around the announcement paper he was holding, threatening to rip it.

* * *

**So, I'm thinking about 4 more chapters left. I'm not sure when I'll update next depending on Wi-Fi connection.**

**If I have time tonight, I'll update another chapter of **_**My Gay Best Friend.**_** If not, I'm not sure when that will be updated. Again, Internet connection. I'll update by September.**

**I wrote a quick drabble/one-shot yesterday called **_**You Found Me**_**. Check it out. It's a little angsty but Percabeth. Make sure to drop a comment or fave.**

**Anyway, make sure to read, review, fave, and follow.**

**~TJ**


	20. Ball Galore

**I've probably been forgotten by now…so moving on…**

**As promised shout-outs to those who reviewed the one-shot I posted yesterday, **_**The Common Application**_**: PipeGrace2015, Artemis-gurl, Annabeth Weasley Fowl, Lilith Jae, insertcoolsoundingnamehere, Teenaged Author, prince of the seas, J, Queenoftheworld, Guest (x2), and coolmango.**

**If you haven't already, take a moment to check it out.**

**Summary: ****After the end of the war with Gaea, Percy faces his next challenge in life: going to college. As he begins to fill out the applications to submit, he comes up with funny, whimsical, not serious, some slightly inappropriate ways to answer the questions. But hey, he's the Hero of Olympus. Who cares about college apps when you saved the world?**

* * *

_**Previously—**_

_"Percy, I was wondering…" she paused, looking very uncomfortable. "Would you go to the dance with me?"_

_He noticed a pair of blue eyes staring at him from a distance away. The Major's eyes had been trained on Annabeth's back the entirety of the conversation, trying to decipher what was going on._

_This could be Percy's opportunity to get it over with Luke. The ball, but now, Annabeth was in the way once more. The more he saw the look in Luke's eyes get cloudier, the more determined he became._

_He said clearly and loudly enough for Luke to hear, "Of course, I'd be honored to accompany you to the dance."_

_That did it. Luke's face turned a fuchsia color and his hands clenched around the announcement paper he was holding, threatening to rip it._

That had been four weeks previously, and the day of the dance was approaching quickly. While most people's minds were on training and then preparations for the dance, Percy was executing his own plan while managing to balance training. The night of the Marine Corps Birthday Ball would be the night of the attack. Annabeth Chase herself would be his alibi. He could easily make quick work of it.

He had managed to contact Nico via Mrs. Arnolds (who had turned out to be the insider Nico had mentioned). The two had begun the long and arduous process of bringing the necessary equipment. Percy didn't want it to be a long affair knowing that if he strayed off for too long, Annabeth was bound to be suspicious.

What Major Luke Castellan needed was death, and Percy was not going to be one to dilly dawdle over it. This was an opportunity that took months of planning could all be lost if Percy were to miss even by a second. Nico had promised that someone would be there to lure Luke out of the banquet hall and that once the deed had been done, he would be there to retrieve the corpse and transport it elsewhere.

Percy could feel the excitement boil up inside him at the thought. He had waited over five years for this moment and here he was, on its threshold. He could finally have the revenge he had wanted. At last, Luke would bear the weight of his karma for killing the innocent lives of his fiancée.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by the arrival of his date for the dance later that evening.

"Private Jackson," the blonde nodded her head once in acknowledgment. Percy returned the greeting with a curt nod of his head, "Captain."

"Any particular reason why you aren't in training?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"Thought I'd take a day off. Gotta look my best for my date tonight," he added with a wink. Although he was teasing her, his mind was speeding at over 100 mph on a different topic."

She fought back a smile threatening to take over her face, "You don't say. Although I must admit, that shouldn't really make you forego your responsibilities. Anyway, I, on the other hand, have some tasks to finish before tonight's ball. I shall see you later, Percy."

Percy found himself suddenly distracted watching her figure grow smaller with each passing step. This girl would be his saviour tonight. She would be the one who verified his story. This was another detail he couldn't forget. She was the key to his success.

_**That evening—**_

Percy stood in calm composure as he tugged the green bowtie of his tuxedo. He had one hand in his pocket as the other adjusted the bowtie. One of his bunker-mates flashed him a sly grin, "Calm down man. Captain Chase isn't going to ding you for not having a proper bow tie. Calm your ti*s."

Percy ignored the comment, instead looking down the line of marines who stood awaiting the arrival of their dates, "Are they here yet?" He glanced down at his watch which currently read 18:00. That gave another hour and forty-five minutes till Nico arrived. That meant he would have to keep Annabeth entertained till 19:40 at least.

At last, the women had arrived in their full glamour. Men's eyes eagerly darted around in search of their dates. Percy's eyes settled on a pair of silver gray staring at him with amusement written on her face.

What struck him was her hair. It had grown back?! No, but it was a wig. A few strands of princess blonde curls cascaded down her neck framing her angular face while a messy bun held the star attraction.

Percy could have remained there staring for a bit, taking in every ounce of the beauty in front of him, but Annabeth approached him with a frown now on her face, "Aren't we going in?"

"What, um, yeah…" he scratched the back of his neck nervously as he blushed a deep cherry tomato red.

"Oh come on," she enthused, grabbing him by the arm to drag him through the entrance of the banquet hall, "Lighten up a bit and look like you're actually happy to go with me."

"Hey, that's not it…" he protested but found himself slightly grinning at her wry humor.

As the two took their allocated seats at one of the numerous round tables located throughout the banquet halls, Luke took center stage at the podium to give the ceremonial speech:

"I would like to welcome everyone here on this fine evening of November 10th to celebrate…"

Percy had his eyes trained on the other man through the duration of the opening ceremony noting every move, unusual quirk, or strain in his adversary's voice. In his rapt attention, he didn't notice the entirety of the crowd standing up to clap until Captain Chase elbowed him hard, "Stand up Jackson."

Luke next gave it over to the Commander of the Marines who made an annual appearance at these events. People once again took their seats at the wave of the Commander's arms. Luke stood to the left respectfully as the man his own bit. Annabeth was in gross attention to pay much attention to Percy. Had she been watching, she might have noticed the queer expressions that overtook his face as the commander praised the major to his left.

At final, the commander exited with a firm handshake with Luke. At his leaving, Luke bent down into the microphone with a grin playing up, "Let's get this ball started."

As the DJ began to play the latest pop hits, Percy found himself sitting cross-legged in his cream colored seat with a glass cup in his hand filled with an unidentifiable liquid while Annabeth stood in front of him with her arms crossed in impatience, "You coming?"

"…Maybe later," he replied, his eyes trained on the mosh pit in front of him trying to locate Luke amongst the crowd.

"Jackson, you're turning lazy. Don't be such a downer," her beautiful features twisted into one of silent pleading, "Besides, imagine what people would say if my date didn't dance with me."

He let himself be thrown into the pit, not reluctantly though. He almost found himself enjoying, his senses dulling as everything near him began turned into a blur. Bodies pressed up against him as he began to sweat profusely. A fast fiery passion of colors surrounded him with only one image standing out in the crowd: a pair of luscious red lips beckoning him slightly with a finger… Rachel.

An arm tugged him hard as he landed into her long arms. "Rachel?" he whispered.

A dark cloud filled the already grey eyes looking back into his own. Her eyebrows scrunched up as she lead him back to their seat. He could sense he had done something wrong from her posture. It was too stiff. His head was still throbbing from the flashing lights, the images still flickering back and forth. His head swayed dangerously when Luke approached.

Percy couldn't tell whether it was the lights playing a trick on him or not, but a sneer was present on Luke's face, visible for all of two seconds.

"Might I interrupt for a dance?" he asked politely, directing the question more at Annabeth than Percy. Annabeth glanced with some concern at Percy before nodding.

"I'll be out then," he managed. "Get some fresh air." Annabeth smiled in agreement, "Right, I'll meet you out there later after this dance. I'll bring some drinks too."

Percy staggered out. It was perfect timing. If Nico was right, Luke should be lured out within ten minutes with Annabeth sufficiently occupied. It would be done in all of three minutes.

He retrieved the revolver from where he had hid it previously. Percy had loaded it that morning in advance so that he was prepared but it felt surprisingly lighter than he remembered. As he shook it, a noise rattled, proving the cartridge was still indeed in the gun.

He leaned against the wall patiently, pulling over the black mask in his hand. He spun the gun by the handle on his pointer finger when a figure darted from the banquet hall. Luke. Percy approached with silent footsteps behind his target.

The other man's blue bowtie stood out in the dark night like a fluorescent light. Luke had stopped, standing in place. Percy moved in closer, slightly surprised. And then he lunged.

With his left arm around Luke's neck in a stronghold, he brought up his right hand, gunpoint to the head. It was easy. Just like a boxing move. Luke struggled for a mere second before stopping, letting out a low, dark chuckle, "So you had the nerve."

"What?" Percy didn't loosen his grip on his target.

"I didn't think you had it in you to kill someone. But I must admit I was expecting this from the moment you entered camp. Percy Jackson, I know who you were from the start. You fooled me momentarily, but that was nothing," Luke said dismissively.

"You shameless murderer," Percy whispered hoarsely into the other man, his voice an octave lower and scratchier at the prospect of the moment.

"Murderer?" Luke laughed with some surprise in his tone.

"You killed Rachel."

"Let's not get upset Percy over one dead soul. Let bygones be bygones."

"Not one innocent life Luke, but two."

"Two?" Luke intoned, this time genuinely in shock.

"Yes, Rachel…and my unborn son, you bastard," Percy's voice caught on his words, holding back from screaming.

"She was pregnant?" Luke said flatly.

"What's it to you. You killed her, and that's all that matters. And now you will have to pay up for the price," Percy's white teeth gleamed against the reflection of the moon. He cocked the gun, releasing the trigger.

Nothing.

Percy kept his hold on Luke as he shook out the cartridge. He had been in an idiot. It was a fake. The bullets had all been discharged. Luke simply laughed, "You think I'd still be here not fighting if I was going to let you kill me?"

"You…"

"Like I said, I knew Percy. I was expecting this."

Percy shoved the gun harder against Luke's head, "Shut up. I can still cause considerable damage with this."

"Percy, just give up. This just isn't worth it and not becoming of a young man such as you."

"It's not only personal Luke, there are others out there ready to finish this mission if I fail."

"What's in it for you?"

"I just want to see you die!"

"Well Percy, hate to break this to you, but I'm not the only one either. That gun of yours? That wasn't me. I have a few friends myself."

Percy whacked him hard with the gun on the side of the head. A trickle of scarlet red blood followed.

"I will kill you," Luke whispered. "I won't wait around till you make an attempt on my life."

Percy would have responded had a voice not interrupted them, "Luke, is that you?"

Without warning, Percy's arm swung in the direction of the voice, a flashlight blinding him momentarily. She dropped the glasses she was carrying in her hand, the glass shattering to pieces flying everywhere as she took in the scene in front of her.

She stared at the two men, one holding a gun to the other's head. "Percy?" Annabeth whispered.

* * *

**I'll admit, not my best, but I apologize for that and the long wait. I want to finish this story soon. There are two more chapters and possibly an epilogue if you all want.**

**I'll update **_**My Gay Best Friend**_** in the next 2 weeks. So, till then, check out the one-shot I wrote yesterday.**

**Read, fave, follow, and review! Every 50****th**** milestone reviewer gets special recognition in the following chapters.**

**~TJ**


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